Arelle: Saga I
by Amai no Tenshi
Summary: Arelle loses control of her magic and ends up having to leave home, but finds a half High Elf/Wood Elf who will teach her magic and eventually falls for him. Meanwhile, new characters show up, all with interesting pasts. *Saga I is now complete*
1. The Prologue: Arelle

Arelle  
  
Author's Notes: This fanfic is about a girl in a world based somewhat loosely on the Online RPG game, EverQuest. There are many things in this story that aren't actually in EverQuest, one of the main ones is that in this fic children don't get magical abilities until they're ten or eleven. If they join a guild or have someone teach them magic at that age or later, they can harness their power and use it. Most can't use their magic at all until someone teaches them how, but the girl in this fic is able to use it without it having been taught to her. The problem is that she hasn't been taught to control it. Enjoy the fic, and please email me if you like it!  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own EverQuest. I do own the words in this story, as well as the characters. Do not use them without permission.  
  
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When Arelle's mother, Arellia, died giving birth to twins, Arella and Arelle, her father fell into a deep depression. He moved back to the area where his mother-in-law, Tillima, lived, and she helped him raise her grandchildren from then on.  
  
Although it was hard on Arelle and her sister to be brought up by a father who was constantly depressed and a grandmother who was really getting too old to do much for them, Arelle and Arella were very happy children when they were young, and well loved among the community. As Tillima was a well- respected, as well as wealthy, member of the community, the sisters soon also became respected members of the community. They were friends with the most influential people of the city, and were very popular, not only because of their charming manners and kindness, but also because they were very beautiful. One of them alone stood out in a crowd, but together they lit up a room. Their long, beautiful golden hair and their matching emerald eyes, along with their gracious smiles, definitely made them the two most popular girls in that area of Felwithe.  
  
The only problem was, Arelle, the younger of the twins, was not quite as pretty and not quite as charming, and as time drew on and they spent less time being together when they went places, Arella became more popular than Arelle. Arelle received few compliments alone, she mostly only received them when she was together with Arella. She was constantly behind Arella in everything, from magic to housework. She loved her sister dearly, but felt a deep jealousy of her. Though Arelle never told anyone or made it obvious, Arella had a feeling she felt this way, and, being the sweet, loving sister she was, tried to compliment Arelle whenever she could.  
  
Still, even though she gained encouragement from her sister, Arelle couldn't help but notice how Arella's sweet, gentle, and more out-going nature drew people to her, while Arelle stood in the background. She began to spend more time alone, having few friends, and ever fewer true friends. Then she began to miss her mother. She had never had a mother before, since she had died giving birth, but Arelle supposed this was the time a mother would be most needed. She had found something to be sad about, and she dwelled on it. She spent all day at her grandmother's, having her grandmother tell her stories of her mother. Now she had an excuse to be sad, and she cried every night. She spent very little time with her friends now, and they all began to find new friends who devoted more time to their friendship. Arelle started to push everyone she loved away from her, but what she really wanted was for everyone to come back and say she was good! That she was just as good as her sister, or better, and that she was just as charming and kind.  
  
Unfortunately, they didn't. This caused Arelle to become mad at her friends and family, to be mad at life in general. She began to have fits of anger, and when she got in these fits, things around her, their flow upset by her strong negative-feeling magic, burst into flame. Her magic was becoming strong, but she was unable to control it. When rumors got around what Arelle did, people became afraid of her. They began to avoid her even more, and this made her even more mad. Even her grandmother and father were slightly afraid of this new power she had, though they tried desperately to hide it. The only one who truly wanted to help her was her sister Arella, but Arelle avoided Arella even more when she started to talk about helping her.  
  
One day while walking in the market alone to fetch some things for her grandmother, she overheard a boy her age talking to his friend about herself and Arella. He said that he was in love with Arella, but that he was afraid to come to her house because of her dangerous sister. This made Arelle so mad that she had a fit of anger right there in the market, a barrel of hay burst into flames, followed by a basket of flour. When Arelle realized what she had done, she ran off, hoping no one had seen her, but many people did, including the boy and his friend.  
  
The next morning the mayor of the area came to Arelle's house. He began to speak with her father. She heard them talking about her as she listened from her room. The mayor said that many people were afraid of Arelle. That they were afraid for their safety, for if this 12-year-old could cause such a disturbance when her magic was just coming to her, imagine what havoc she could cause in just a few years. He said the people wanted something done about this, and fast.  
  
Arelle knew that all she had been doing in the last few years was causing trouble for her family. She wanted to get rid of this habit, this negative magic that made people afraid of her. But she didn't know how. She thought it was impossible, and that she would have to live with this curse her whole life. So, she ran away. Taking plenty of food and only a few of her possessions, a few spell books, her dagger, and a staff, she packed her pack full of these things. She left a note for her family, telling them that she would no longer be a bother to them, and that if she ever learned how to control her magic enough that she wouldn't cause a trouble anymore, she would return home.  
  
Arelle's POV  
  
Now that the note was finished, all she had to do was leave. But she didn't know where to go! Anywhere was fine, really. Anywhere away from here. Although she tried to deny it in her mind, she knew she was afraid. Norath was a dangerous place, with evil lurking everywhere, and although she could do some magic, mostly she would just have to run from anything that attacked her. Greater Faydark looked like the best place to go. Maybe she would even stop at the Wood Elf city, Kelethin. She heard it was made in the trees. Can you imagine a town in the trees? Although it made her curious and excited to think about it, it also made her think of how much more dignified and superior the High Elves were to the Wood Elves. But right now she felt quite as low as the Wood Elves, and she knew she'd be lucky if they accepted her.  
  
Now she just had to get out of the city, but the only way out was by the gates, and there was no way the guards would let a little girl out into the dangerous forest of Greater Faydark alone. She would have to create a distraction. She had a plan, she just hoped it would work. She ran till the gates to Faydark were in view, than she stepped behind a building where no one could see her. She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. Then she suddenly ran towards the guards yelling. They looked at her, wondering what she was doing. "GUARDS!" She yelled, panting heavily, "ORCS! THEY'VE COME THROUGH THE OTHER GATE!" She yelled at them as she faked a terrified look. They looked at each other and nodded. They ran towards the other gate, yelling for her to stay here. She knew they must have believed her because of her rich clothing. Her clothing told everyone around her that she was rich and respectable. Everyone that heard what Arelle had said started to panic. Arelle was a little displeased, she didn't mean to upset the whole town. But she had to do this. She had to get out of here.  
  
She looked back at the city. She knew she'd probably never see it again. But it was too late to go back now. She had made up her mind, and she sure wasn't going to give up now. She ran out the gates, into the dark, gloomy woods of Greater Faydark.  
  
End of Prologue. 


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting Moren

Arelle sat on the mossy ground, beginning to eat her food. She had stopped for a short while to eat, but stayed very alert as she ate, knowing that if she was caught off guard, it could be fatal. She was probably several miles at least from the city now. It was a few hours from daybreak, but she was determined to walk as long as she possibly could before she rested for the night. Speaking of resting for the night, what was she going to do? She knew it would be incredibly dangerous to sleep out here, with no one to keep watch. She had seen two deadly, giant wasps, and a bat that also looked dangerous, but she had managed to sneak past them without them noticing her. But if she was asleep, it would be easy to find her, and it wouldn't take long for one of these frightening creatures to kill her, especially if they got the first blow in. But did wasps and bats come out at night, too, then? Surely they slept some time. In that case, what came out at night? A shiver an up her spine as she remembered all the tales she had heard of the orcs of Greater Faydark. Or what might possibly even be worse than orcs, the Cutthroats. She felt disgusted thinking of them, some Cutthroats were even High Elves who turned traitor!

Suddenly she heard something. The sound of a leaf being crumbled. She turned around quickly. Nothing was there. Was it just her imagination? She got up quickly, but quietly. She silently stuck the remnants of her dinner in her pack and slung it back on, in case she needed to run. She stood there silently for several minutes, completely alert. She was silently chanting the beginning of a small fire spell she had learned from her magic books. 

"Hullo!" a voice came suddenly, frightening Arelle. The voice came from a young man who appeared from behind a bushy tree. He was a Wood Elf! Or was he a High Elf? He was tall and slender, yet slightly muscular, with dark brown hair, a pale complexion and strikingly blue eyes. He looked like he was in his early twenties. 

"Who are you?" Arelle shot back, "Are you friendly?" 

"I'm Moren. And yes, I'm very friendly. And who are you?" She stared at him a moment. What was this guy doing out here in the middle of the forest? Could he be trying to trick her? He seemed friendly enough. In fact, he seemed so friendly it made Arelle a little annoyed. It was something in his voice that bothered her. And that big, goofy looking smile on his face. Why was he so happy? In Tunare's name, he was in the middle of this dangerous forest, and yet he acted like it was nothing! He cleared his throat. 

"What's a fair maiden like yourself doing wondering about this forest?" She looked hard at him. She didn't trust him at all. It would be better if he just left. She sat down and pulled her half-eaten meal back out of her pack. She pretended to ignore him, but she watched him carefully, still having her fire spell ready. She hoped that by ignoring him, he would leave. He sat down beside her, to her surprise. He pulled some meat and bread out of his own pouch, and began to eat it. 

"What're you doing?" She asked, surprised. 

"Well, the same thing as you, I suppose. Eating dinner!" She continued eating, though she kept a careful eye on him still. 

"So, what're _you_ doing in this dreadful, accursed forest?" Arelle asked, once they both had finished eating. 

"Dreadful, accursed forest? That's awful harsh. This is where I was born, you know. As a matter of fact, I'm rather fond of it." He said. 

"You were born here? I'm sorry if I seem rude, but of what race are you? You have both the traits of the Wood Elves and the High Elves, and I cannot seem to figure out which of these races you are, or if you are of a whole different race entirely." She said. 

"I am both, but neither. Both a High-Elf and a Wood Elf, am I, yet I can't be either." He sighed, his smile fading slightly. 

"What, in the name of Tunare, are you talking about? It is a clear and simple question. Of what race are you?" She asked again, slightly annoyed. 

"I am the son of a Wood Elf and a High Elf, to be part of both, yet accepted by neither." He replied. Arelle was surprised! She had heard of such a thing, two different races marrying, but it seemed so odd to her. 

"…The son of a Wood Elf and a High Elf…" She repeated. 

"Yes, and now that you know what I am, may I inquire about you? What is such a young girl doing wondering about the forest, with no one to protect her? Are you lost?" She glared at him. A 'young girl', huh? Maybe she should use a fire spell on him. 

"I can take care of myself, I don't need anyone to protect me." She replied coldly as she stood up. He stood also, but she turned to leave. He began to follow her. "What're you doing?" She asked, turning to face him. 

"I happen to need to go this way!" He replied. She glared at him, and then turned to go. After a while, she turned to him again. 

"Look, I don't know what you want, but I can't give it to you. Just be on your way now, crawl back to the bush you crawled out of!" She stormed off. He followed after her. It was now getting pretty dark, but Arelle didn't want to have to stay the night while this man was still following her. So they trudged on into the night. She tripped several times, and when she did, Moren always helped her to her feet. 

Occasionally he would start talking to her. He would talk of certain trees and animals, occasionally he would talk of the Fay Folk, which he seemed to have a deep respect for. Sometimes he spoke of the orcs, and of their fortress at Crushbone, and every time he did Arelle felt shivers run up and down her spine. All these new monsters he spoke of scared her, but she tried not to act like it in front of him, and continued walking as fast as she could without tripping. Eventually her pace dropped, for she was getting very exhausted. She hadn't looked back at Moren all day, trying to ignore him, but now she looked back at him and saw nothing but his dark shadow. 

"Well now, I think now's a good time for me to stop and take a rest for the night." Moren began. "You feel free to go on ahead, though. Just be careful of those orcs I told you about. It's so dark now, you probably wouldn't even see them before they got their first blow on you!" He sat down on the mossy ground and yawned. She paused and looked at him as he pulled a cover out of his pack and laid down on it. Then she turned back to her path. Immediately she tripped and fell on the ground. He watched her, as she wearily got up. She came back to him and laid down about five feet away from him. 

"I think I'll sleep here." She mumbled. 

"Excellent! In that case, we can take watches, so one of will always be on watch while the other sleeps. I'll take the first watch so you can get some sleep. I'll wake you up when I get tired." He said, getting up and offering her his bed of covers. She was surprised, but grateful, as she slipped into the covers. Could she really trust this man? He could easily kill her in her sleep. But if he were going to attack her, wouldn't he already have done it? 

Moren watched as Arelle drifted off to sleep. What was such a young girl doing in this dangerous forest alone? Although he was no expert on High Elf lore, he knew that the clothes she wore meant she was wealthy and respectable. So why would someone like her be wondering around this forest? 

He recalled earlier that day when he had noticed her in the forest. At first she thought she must be an angel. She was walking into a small clearing, the sun shining brightly on her golden hair. She sat down on the grass and pulled some food out of her bag and began to eat it. Moren was surprised how well mannered she was, even though she was out in the middle of a forest where no one could see her, she sat perfectly upright eating daintily. Moren knew before he could even make out much of her clothes that she was respected wherever she was from just by the way she stuck out her chin in a proud manner. He watched her a few moments. She was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, but, of course, he had seen few women before, as he had lived most of his life in the forest. He knew that a young girl like her wouldn't be alive long in this dangerous forest. She had probably come from Felwithe, the High Elf city, for it was less than a day's travel away from there. Whatever her reasons were for being here, he knew he would have to protect her till she reached her destination. He then purposely stepped on some twigs and said hello to her, trying not to scare her. 

And now, here he was. Watching her sleeping form. Although she was young, Moren felt a great power in her. Especially when she had gotten mad at him, he could feel the negative magic flow around her. This was something that would probably cause her great trouble in the future, and may have already caused some trouble for her. It may even have been what caused her to run away, for surely that is what she had done. If that was the case, perhaps he could help her, for he had not told her before, but both his parents had been highly skilled magic-users, and before they died they had taught Moren much of it. 

He heard Arelle mumbling something in her sleep, and listened quietly. She mumbled of flames, which evidently she herself caused, burning a village down to the ground. She cried out many times. Moren leaned down, gently picked up her hand and held it in his to comfort her. He felt her grip tighten on his hand, and he was surprised how tightly she held onto his hand. Finally she began to drift into a deeper, more peaceful slumber, and her grip released. Moren stood up and walked a ways a way, where he pulled a dagger out from inside his boot and began sharpening it. 

The next morning Arelle woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise. She saw Moren a little ways away, singing in a deep, quiet voice. She listened to hear what the song was about, but she couldn't make out what he said. He must've been singing in some other tongue. The song was slow and sad, and Moren appeared to be staring into the horizon with his brows furrowed as he sang quietly. As she sat up, he turned around and saw she was awake. He immediately smiled at her, with that same goofy smile he had on the day before. 

"Why didn't you wake me in the night when you got tired, so I could take watch?" She asked. He paused for a minute. 

"I didn't feel sleepy, and you looked like you needed the rest more than I. Besides, I'm used to going without sleep for a few days, if it's necessary." He replied, sitting beside her as they both took out food from their packs for breakfast. 

"So umm," Arelle began nervously, "I'm sorry about yesterday, I didn't mean to be rude. I was really nervous about who to trust and who to avoid and all." she ended, a little flustered. He smiled, 

"Not a problem, fair maiden." It was then that Arelle realized she had never told Moren what her name was. 

"Oh, and you can stop calling me 'fair maiden'. My name is Arelle Mah'Alimah. You can call me Arelle, but don't call me 'Relle or Ellie. I HATE those names." He chuckled. 

"Very well, Arelle it is then." Said he. There was a somewhat awkward silence now, and Arelle knew that he wanted to know why she was here, but didn't want to pry at her obviously unhappy past. She sighed. 

"I ran away from home." She said simply. He paused a moment. 

"I suspected." 

Another pause. 

"I ran away because…I can't control my magic. I was a danger to the village. They were afraid of me. Not that it mattered, they didn't even like me when I didn't have any magic." She was very sad, but was determined not to cry in front of him. 

Suddenly she jerked up and frowned. He looked at her confused as she began sniffing the air. 

"What's that awful smell? I didn't even notice it till now." 

"Hmm? Oh, you mean that?" He said as he pointed to a pile of dead Orc Centurion corpses about twenty feet away. It looked like it had about four or five corpses in it. She gasped as she ran over to take a closer look at them. Could he really take down so many orc centurions in the night while she was STILL ASLEEP?! Not to mention he didn't have any apparent wounds at all. She herself might be able to take down an orc pawn, but definitely not a centurion. 

"Did you really kill all these while I was asleep?" She asked. 

"I was especially quiet. I didn't want to wake you!" He said, chuckling at her astonished face. 

"What class are you? I can see by these burn marks on these you must be some sort of caster." 

"I am a Cleric." He replied plainly. She looked a little doubtful. He certainly didn't look, nor act, like a Cleric. "What? You don't believe me?" He asked after seeing her doubtful face. 

"Well, I mean no disrespect, but you really don't _look_ like a Cleric." She replied. He chuckled. 

"And what are Clerics _supposed_ to look like?" He asked. She paused. 

"Well, long, white robes and a gray beard…But most of all, they have a serious and serene, but kind, face. Well, to sum it up, they pretty much look the opposite of you." 

"I think I could take offense by that." 

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend you. I mean, I can tell you're good at magic, but a _Cleric_?" 

"Ok, ok! So I don't have the flowy robes and the serious face, but I am a Cleric. Trust me." 

They paused for a moment, finishing up their food now. Then Arelle looked up at Moren, suddenly having a plan. 

"So, Moren. Since you're a powerful Cleric, could you maybe accept me as your pupil, and teach me magic? I would be really, truly grateful!" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

"Well now, I suppose that would work!" He smiled at her. He had wanted to help her, but he wanted her to ask him for help first. They sat a moment smiling at each other. 

"So where do you live, Moren? Kelethin or Felwithe?" His eyes saddened. 

"Ah, neither young Arelle. Neither accepts me as one of them, so I am forced to live in this forest between them." He replied, and she was sorry she had brought it up. 

"That's very mean of them. I think you should be able to live at either, since you are part of both. But, I suppose life isn't the way it should be." 


	3. Chapter 2: A Lonely Past

Arelle watched as Moren sat beside her in front of the small fire. It had already been a week since Moren had decided to teach Arelle magic, but so far Moren hadn't taught her any spells, and they hadn't really worked specifically on control of magic, either. He had so far only taught her some of the basics of magic. In the time she had known him, she had found him to be like a caring older brother. It felt good to have someone who cared about you so much. She began to realize, though, that her own family in Felwithe really had always cared about her. For so long it seemed to her that no one cared for her. Now she realized it was herself who was pushing everyone away, and not that they had just left her. But she would continue training until he had control over her magic. It would be better that way. She wondered how long it would be before she could return home. 

"You did very well today, Arelle. If you keep making so much progress, I'm sure you'll be able to control your magic by the summer of next year!" He said, as if he had read her mind. But she knew that that could never happen, although she was improving quite a bit. 

"Winter is not long away." She mumbled under her breath. "It's certainly cold, here in the forest." 

"Aye, it is." He sighed. "Winter is a hard season. It's difficult to find food, and it gets quite a bit cooler than this, in the winter." 

"Moren, have you ever traveled out of Greater Faydark?" Arelle asked. 

"When I was very young, my mother and father took me to Felwithe and Kelethin occasionally. They kept hoping that someday their people would forgive them and one of the cities would let them live there. But it never happened. We were forced to live in the forest. 

"My parents taught me quite a bit of magic in my younger years. Even though I really couldn't use it, since you don't get your magic until ten or so, they had me memorize all types of spells for when I was able to use more magic. They were afraid for my safety, living in this dangerous forest. They tried to teach me how to defend myself with weapons, too, but since they had both lived in large cities all their lives, they didn't really know how to survive in the forest alone. My father was the son of a respectable magician, and all my father really knew was lore and magic, for he hoped to be a magician like his father. My mother was the daughter of a tailor, and although she was learning the trade of her father, she also taught herself magic from books. When my mother and father met, they found each other intriguing, but later they began to love each other. Their families, though, never excepted each other, and they had many quarrels among each other. Eventually, my mother and father were asked to leave both cities, as the constant quarreling among the two families was causing tension among them. But my mother was now pregnant, and my father dared not to travel far, for it might strain her. So they decided to stay in the woods of Greater Faydark. 

"My mother always stayed in a tent my father had made her. She cooked and cleaned clothes and did that sort of stuff, while my father hunted. One day my father was training me on how to shoot with a bow, while my mother had stayed in the tent a ways off, as she usually did. When my father and I came home for dinner, we found my mother lying there, dead. The rest of our equipment had been stolen or destroyed, as well. A large number of orcs had apparently taken her by surprise. Father was so enraged, he swore vengeance on them. Three days later, he left me beside the wall of Felwithe, telling me to go to the gates and ask for admittance into the city. 'Surely they would take pity on the boy, even if he is half Wood Elf', he must have thought. He never returned. I have no doubt that after dropping me off at Felwithe, he went to Crushbone, the orc city, where he met his fate. 

"Naturally, I was very upset. Both my parents were now gone. I started heading for the gates as my father had instructed me after while, but then changed my mind. In my mind, the people of Felwithe and Kelethin were both my enemies. I had never wanted to be part of them, it was my parents who constantly tried to live there. The only thing Kelethin and Felwithe did for me was make my mother cry every night. As for myself, I was content with my home in the forest. I have never entered Felwithe or Kelethin since my parents died, and I have never wanted to. They are a cruel people. They're heartless." He finished, looking away from Arelle, into the setting sun. 

Arelle wondered if he meant that she, too, was cruel and heartless. Had he forgotten that she was one of the people of Felwithe? She felt sorry for him, with such a sad past. It made her sad that he hated her people so much, too. She had hoped someday she could take him to see her family, but now she doubted he would ever enter Felwithe to see them. 

"I'm…sorry. I'm sorry, Moren." She said. "It must have been very hard for you, all alone in this forest. No one to talk to, no one to care for you. You spent your entire childhood alone." He looked at her now, and saw tears welling up in her eyes. It touched him that she would cry for him. He smiled at her now, but she could see the smile was half forced. 

"It's all right, Arelle," he said. "Thanks for listening to my story anyway, though." He paused. "Now, I think it's time for some music." He reached into the pack he carried slung over his shoulder and took out a lyre and began to play it. The song was a happy, fast-paced one, and when he began to sing along to the tune, Arelle smiled. When the song was over Moren looked at her to see her reaction. 

"You could've been a bard, Mor. That was truly lovely!" Moren laughed heartily. 

"Thank you, m'lady." He said. 

As days went by, Arelle found a great companion in Moren. He was always so jolly, and he now played the lyre for her every time she asked him to (which was nearly every night). He also sung for her for her entertainment, though he was a bit shy about it, which amused Arelle even more. But he certainly had a serious side. She saw sometimes how he looked out into the sky with such a sad look when he thought she couldn't see him. She could tell also that he still held a deep hatred for Kelethin and Felwithe, though he didn't show it often. 

"Arelle, are you concentrating?" 

"Hmm? Oh yeah, the candles! Right." she replied, as she began concentrating on the five candles sitting on the ground in front of her. She squinted her eyes and furrowed her brows in concentration. Suddenly the three in the middle exploded. "Oops! Oh no, I did it again!" she sighed in frustration. 

"Ah, but look at the candles on the sides, Arelle!" She looked, and both the candles had been lit. "See? You're making a lot of progress!" He said enthusiastically. He was right. When they had started this exercise, everything within a two-foot radius of the candles had gone up in smoke. Now she had successfully lit two of the candles. 

"Alright, let's try it again! This time I'll get them all lit!" 


	4. Chapter 3: A Stranger Arrives

Moren and Arelle trudged through the dark forest. Moren had a dead wolf's corpse slung over his shoulder, and in his hand he carried a bow. Arelle trudged beside him, carrying a thick staff in her right hand. When Moren first began teaching Arelle magic, and Arelle had to live out in the wilderness with him, he had insisted that he would do the hunting and she would do the cooking, as he thought that's what females were supposed to do. But she wouldn't have it. She told him she would help him with the hunting, and he could help her with the cooking. They had quite a hassle about it, until finally Moren gave up, and in exasperation cried, "Fine, fine! Let the fiery maiden have her way! Let her help with the hunting!" Arelle smiled in triumphant. That had settled that. 

Now Arelle and Moren were coming home from a hunting trip. Despite Arelle's constant attempt to do everything for herself, Moren kept trying to treat her like a delicate maiden. He brought her flowers, played his lyre for her, sang for her, and he even built a sort of tent-type one-roomed house for her, so she wouldn't have to sleep in the trees like he had always done before she arrived. Truly, she loved the attention, but acted as though she was mad at him for treating her as if she was so delicate. 

But even so, Moren had to admit she was really quite tough. In fact, she was the one who had just killed the wolf. Moren had smelled the wolf a ways off, and they had snuck up on it. Moren was in a tree with his bow, and Arelle was on the ground below and a little away from him. Moren shot the wolf with an arrow, but the wolf was only hurt, and in it's rage saw Arelle standing in the bushes and immediately charged her. Arelle stood her ground, and as soon as the wolf was within distance, she whammed him across the skull with her staff. Moren was surprised when he came down to make sure he was dead. He said she had actually cracked his skull, she hit him with so much force. And then of course he cracked a few jokes about how that's what you get for messing with "the Fiery Maiden", to Arelle's exasperation. She then had picked the dead wolf up to carry it back, but he took it from her, saying ladies shouldn't have to carry dead corpses, at which she have him a half-glare and walked on. 

Once they were back at the tent, Arelle went to gather plants and nuts for them to eat with the meat while Moren cleaned the wolf. Already she had learned from Moren all kinds of edible roots, plants, and nuts. Of course, besides that, she had also learned how to use both a staff and a bow, and was learning even more as far as magic went. She had now decided to be a Cleric, and Moren promised that as soon as she had complete control of the magic she already had, he would train her in the ways of the Cleric. Moren was always nice to her, but he could be a tough teacher, too. Yet he always seemed to be incredibly cheerful, encouraging, and optimistic, which made everything easier. 

When Arelle came back with the food, she saw Moren, who had apparently already finished cleaning the wolf, standing outside the tent. He seemed to be smelling the air and looking down the hill their tent was on, into the shadows. He bade Arelle to come to him, and she did. 

"Arelle, I smell something odd in the wind. I think it may be a stranger. I see you have your bow with you, let me get my sword from the tent." He said, as he went back into the tent. She looked down the hill and tried sniffing the air as Moren always did. She didn't see or smell anything peculiar, but she knew better then to doubt Moren. While she waited for him, she quietly stomped out the small fire outside the tent. Without the little light the fire gave off, the tent was almost completely covered in shadows from the trees over-head. He soon returned with sword in hand. 

"Is it elf or orc, Moren?" she asked. 

"Not orc I'm sure. No, not orc. But it has a strange smell. Still, I think it's elf. I smell blood, too. Blood and many other unpleasant things." He said, frowning. They both hid in the shadows. Arelle had her bow cocked and ready to fire. For many minutes they stood their, breathing quietly, as they watched and listened. Finally, Arelle saw something coming up the hill. It was too hard to see what it was though, at first. Eventually as he came out, Arelle saw that it was a man, clothed in black and red. As he came even closer, she saw that not all the red on him was actually clothing, he was bleeding badly. He wore a bright scarlet red scarf around his neck. He seemed to be hobbling slightly, as well. When he was about fifteen feet away from them, he suddenly jerked up, as if he had seen them. 

"Well, well now. I didn't realize I wasn't alone." Moren stepped forward slightly. 

"From your appearance, I'm guessing you're of some sort of outlaw." Moren said. 

"Why yes, I am. And who might ye be, young fellow? It's awful dangerous in this forest alone." 

"That is none of your concern. I suggest you leave at once. Turn around and go back the way you came from." 

"Now, now, let's not be too hasty, me lad. I seem to be in rather a bad shape at the moment, and being the kind heart I see that you are, perchance you could take pity upon a rogue like me and give me a little food and bandages?" 

Moren paused, considering the prospect. As he was doing so, Arelle stepped forward so that the rogue could see her and lowered her bow. 

"Moren, of course we can help him." She looked at the rogue, and then at Moren. Moren looked at Arelle and whispered to her quietly, 

"Arelle, the man's a rogue, he might kill us in our sleep! If I am not mistaken, I think he might be one of the Cutthroat clan!" At the word "Cutthroat" Arelle silently gasped. At that moment, the man took a step forward. Arelle's bow quickly flew back into place as she cocked it once again with the arrow. 

"Woah there, lass! I mean ye no harm!" He said, raising his hands in surrendering posture. 

"Who are you? Are you a Cutthroat?" She asked, her bow still tense, 

"Well now, I suppose I can tell you. My name's Aka. Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat." At this Arelle gasp and began to quiver. Moren looked at her with confused concern. 

"Get out." She said. Both of the men looked at her with confused looks. 

"Is my name so famous that you should know who I be?" 

"Get out, get out, Akinen the disgraceful!!" Arelle yelled at him, she was sweating now and shaking uncontrollably, the string on her bow was tense. Both of the men looked at her confused, but now Aka also looked angry. Aka stepped forward a step. 

"And how might ye know my real name, lass?" He said in a deep, threatening voice. 

"Away with you, I never want to see you again! Away, _Akinen Mah'Alimah_!!!" She yelled at him. At this Moren gasped. Mah'Alimah was Arelle's last name! Did this mean they were related? At this, Aka stepped forward, squinting his eyes at Arelle, as if to get a good look at her. 

"I know I have never seen ye before, yet ye look strangely familiar. Who are ye?" 

She paused, glaring at him. "I am Arelle Mah'Alimah, second daughter of Aekash and Arellia Mah'Alimah." He looked at her surprised for a moment, then suddenly grinned. 

"Well, I'll be!" He exclaimed. Moren was desperately trying to figure out was going on when Aka said, "I see my brother now has himself a beautiful daughter." 


	5. Chapter 4: The Scarlet Cutthroat

Akinen watched as Arelle bandaged his wound, wrapping it in some sort of cloth, as he sat upright on a bundle of furs in the tent. Moren had healed him first with magic, but it hadn't completely healed him. He still had a few wounds. Arelle was just finishing up the job. Arelle was obviously still mad at him, as she avoided all eye contact with him. Not that he blamed her. He _had_ single-handedly destroyed his entire family's reputation by joining the Cutthroats. Or so he might guess. He actually hadn't told anyone but his mother that he was joining the Cutthroats, but news like that always seemed to leak out. Anyway, joining the Cutthroats was looked down upon more than almost anything else, and, as he remembered, Felwithe was_ all_ about reputation and status. Well, probably the whole High-Elf race was all about reputation and status. Maybe that was why he joined the Cutthroats. Nah, he just wanted to live a dangerous life and get lots of loot. He remembered back in the days when he lived with his family. He was never too close to his family, especially not his brother Aekash. Because, truth be told, he was jealous of Aekash. 

When he was twelve, Aka's father, Balish, fell sick with some sort of disease. His disease seemed incurable. All the doctor could do for him was tell him to rest and eat, and hope his body would overcome the disease. Balish was a farmer, though, which meant that now that he was sick, there wasn't any money coming in for his family. Akinen's mother, Seril, tried hard to make money. She sewed, repaired, and also tried to keep part of the farm going. She didn't have enough to feed her seven-year-old son, Aekash, so she sent him to live with his grandparents. Her twelve-year-old son Akinen, on the other hand, was just the right age to be able to help her with the farm and to take care of Balish, so she kept him at home. 

While Akinen labored away all day, Aekash was getting a good education. His grandparents loved him dearly and always encouraged and praised him. Aekash's polite manner, intelligence, and wit were making himself a respected part of the community. His grandparents hired a tutor to teach him lore, and did many other things to help his career, hoping he could be more than a farmer as his father was. Aekash was well spoken of among the whole community, and this made Akinen burn with jealousy. Akinen hated his home. While he loved his parents, living with them in this state was awful. Balish was too sick to even speak most of the time, most of the time he lie in his bed, totally still, and gravely pale. As for Seril, she was also having a dreadful time, working day and night. Seril was very pretty in her younger days, with a long braid of golden hair and a warm, cheerful smile. Now her hair was cut shorter and was always in a bun on her head, and her eyes were dull and lifeless as if every day she did the same routine with nothing in life worth being happy for. She had dark circles under her eyes and wrinkles across her forehead. And as for Akinen, every day he had to work on the farm. That was his main job, but if anyone in the town needed help with something and were willing to pay, Seril sent him to do the job. He had few friends because he didn't really have any time for them. 

And so it went for two years. 

One day Seril and Akinen were both on jobs elsewhere in the city, while Balish was home alone. Balish sat upright in his bed. He pulled off his blanket and stood up on the floor, something he hadn't done in months. He painfully made his way to the back door. He opened the door and went out to the farm in back where be took a tool resembling a hoe. He made his way to one of the fields and began hoeing it. And he hoed and hoed, only resting every so often. Though the pain was terrible, he thought he could bear it. 

When Akinen returned home after his job that day, he went straight to the fields to work on the farm till sunset. But what he saw there horrified him. Balish was lying there, dead, on the field, hoe in hand. He screamed and ran up to his fallen father, but it was too late to help him. He cried, there by his dead father, until Seril returned. 

Balish's death was terrifying, and for the first few weeks Akinen thought Seril might die of grief. But somehow, because he had been so sick for so long, it wasn't all that much of a surprise. And in a way, it was almost relieving to know he would have to suffer no longer. Now he could finally rest in peace, and Akinen's family could move on. There was really none who had expected Balish to recover. Finally it was ended. 

Akinen walked into the living room where his mother sat on a wooden stool, her face expressionless. He stood in the hall looking in until he finally decided to speak. 

"Mother?" 

She looked up at him and half-smiled at him, though it looked rather forced. She bade him to come nearer, and he did. She stood up and hugged him. 

"Akinen, Akinen. You have always been such a helpful boy. What would I do without you?" She asked, more to herself than actually questioning him. "Life has been rather cruel to you thus far, but I have yet high hopes for your bright future. She stopped hugging him now and pulled away. "My mother and father, your grandparents, are going to let us live with them. We will sell the house and farm, and from now on we will all live together in my father's house. All of us. You, me, and Aekash. It's a shame you two haven't been closer. Now you'll have that chance" 

And so it was that Akinen and his mother Seril sold their house and farm and moved into Seril's parents' home. When Akinen and Seril first moved in, Aekash was very excited, though he was a little scared of his brother now because now he barely knew him. Still, he thought it would be great to have Akinen and his mother live with him once again. Unfortunately, wherever Akinen and Aekash went together, it was obvious who had an education and who had lived on a farm all his life. 

Akinen was jealous of his brother and teased and tortured him unmercifully. Suffice it to say, the two got along very poorly. They were far too different. 

Things were basically going well now though. Seril continued to sew for money, but she wasn't so desperate now that she lived with her parents. She was still in mourning over her dead husband, though, and usually wore black. Aekash was becoming friends with respectable boys his age, and learning quite a lot in his studies. Akinen tried to learn in his studies, but he was already so far behind. He discussed it with his family and decided instead of learning lore and writing and such, he would learn a trade so that he could support himself. It was far too late for him to learn to be anyone of an educated trade now. So Akinen became the blacksmith's assistant. Still, Akinen did not at all feel proud or self-confident about himself when his younger brother was learning so much and was so honored among the community. 

That's when Akinen began to spend a lot of time with his friends. The problem was, he befriended the wrong kinds of people. Akinen now became friends with Rogues-in-training and amateur thieves. Akinen longed for an adventurous life like his friends, always getting out of dangerous spots in the nick of time. They told him all sorts of tales about gold and treasure, and about all the adventures they'd had. Akinen now dreaded the thought of having to be a blacksmith all his life. So he decided to be a rogue, and secretly began the training. Of course, none of his family knew of his decision. 

Akinen began to go on Rogue quests now. Many included stealing. He found stealing was easier than he ever imagined, and even when it wasn't part of a quest, he began doing it for fun. His friends were always right beside him in everything he did, and they all became great friends, willing to risk their own necks for each other. This made Akinen feel like he had another family, and this one, he thought, understood him better. On one particular escapade, Akinen stole the Mayor's scarlet red scarf. He had stolen it off the mayor himself while he was sleeping! This made such a tale between his friends, they began to call him the "Scarlet Thief". Eventually Akinen was officially pronounced a full-fledged Rogue. It was one of Akinen's happiest days, and he wore his scarlet scarf around his neck all day that day. 

One day Akinen and his group of friends were mugging a couple in the alleyway, something they did somewhat often. It wasn't anything new, but something happened that day that changed Akinen's life forever. The man had resisted, and one of the boys had punched him in the stomach before he could draw his sword. Akinen and another boy joined in on beating the man, while another held a dagger to the woman's neck. The man stopped when he saw his lady in danger. Suddenly, out of nowhere, flames began burning all the thieves, including Akinen. The couple yelled in surprise and hurried to get away from the burning boys who seemed to be on fire. The heat was intense, Akinen felt it burning his flesh. He dropped to the ground, unconscious from the pain. But before he collapsed, he saw a magician in rich clothing standing at the entrance of the alleyway. 

When Akinen woke up (no telling how much later) he recognized his surroundings as the inside of the Rogue's guild. He yelled in pain, his face burned like nothing he had felt before. Later he learned that the left side of is face was very badly burned. The rest of his wounds would heal, with the exception of one on his back, but this one was too bad to ever heal completely. Of course, right now it was the ugliest thing Akinen had ever seen. His Rogue friends tried to help and encourage him, but their wasn't much they could do for him. 

After staying in the Rogue guild under their care for three days, Akinen asked to go to home. The Rogue guild sent two of his friends to help him to his home. As you might imagine, when he got home his family was quite horrified. At first, Seril, the one who opened the door, didn't recognize Akinen. When she did, she broke down crying and screaming right there and then. It was very painful for Akinen. The rest of his family took it similarly, except they didn't even hide their disgust for the ugly new face of his. 

And of course, the news couldn't be kept secret in the town for very long at all. Soon everyone in the town knew. Of course, no one knew the reason he had the huge scar, but they all had their theories and speculations. As for the real reason for the scar, Akinen decided to tell his family when he was completely healed. Of course this took a while. Two and a half months, to be exact. Or, it took that long for him to feel better, but the scar was definitely still there. 

Finally one day when his mother was sitting next to him, singing to him as she sewed, as she had got accustomed to lately, he told her. He told her everything. The stealing, the mugging, and how he got the scar, and then, how he was actually a full-fledged Rogue. She cried the whole time he was telling her, and when he had finished telling her how he was actually a Rogue, she suddenly jumped up and ran out of the room sobbing loudly. 

After that, he packed up his most priced possessions (most of which he had stolen), and ran all the way to the Rogue guild. Once he got there, he talked to his friends, telling them how he planned to run away, he couldn't face life here with the scar. They suggested joining the Cutthroats. Akinen wasn't surprised as some of them had previously been in the Cutthroats. And so, he decided to join the Cutthroats. He told one of his friends to deliver a message to Seril, in which he wrote his intentions and bid her farewell forever, thanking her for her kindness. He decided from then on he would call himself Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat, so as not to disgrace the name of Mah'Alimah. Before he left, his friends warned him that the Cutthroats were far more cruel and dangerous than he might think, and that he would have to be very careful. He thanked them for their advice, and bade them all farewell. It was a sad parting. 

Leaving the city of Felwithe behind, he crawled through the tunnel the Rogues had built under the city walls, out into the gloomy woods of Greater Faydark. He wrapped his scarlet scarf around his neck as he turned away from Felwithe and ran into the forest. 

It was quite a difficult task to join the Cutthroats. They gave him many difficult tests to pass, but he prevailed through it all. In fact, before the Felwithe guards had destroyed the band of Cutthroats he was in, he had actually become second-in-command. 

And now, here he sat, watching his own niece wrap his wounds. She was so pretty. His brother was fortunate to have such a calm, serene, as well as beautiful, daughter. He secretly longed for children of his own, but he couldn't have a family, not while living with the Cutthroats. He recalled how he had gotten these wounds of his. It must've been at least three days before. He remembered it clearly. It was in the middle of he night, and he awoke to the sounds of his comrades screaming "Attackers!" He grabbed his sword and rushed out into the battle going on outside the tents. An army of Felwithe soldiers was chopping down Cutthroat after Cutthroat like blades of grass. Either the Cutthroats who were supposed to be on watch had fallen asleep, or else they had been betrayed. Either way, this would make a quick end to the band of Cutthroats Akinen was in. He fought hard, but was wounded in the stomach, leg, and right shoulder. When he fell to the ground, the Felwithe guards must've thought he was dead. After killing all the Cutthroats, they had begun dragging the corpses to burn. Akinen waited for a moment when there was just one guard by him. He killed the guard by surprise, and ran off into the forest as fast as he could. 

For what seemed to him as an eternity, he had made his way deep into the forest. His mind was blank, and his vision was hazy as if he was in a dream. He didn't feel the pain much. It was if his whole body had jut gone numb, and his mind seemed numb as well. He wandered this way for about a day or two, killing the occasional orc that passed him, and it was in this haze that he first spotted Moren and Arelle. But he always had a special instinct that made him never show his weakness in front of others. He found in the Cutthroat clan that when you did that, that was when people jumped on you. So he was brought out of the haze. He sensed that Moren was a good person and hoped to take advantage of him by first having him treat and take care of him, and then when he was completely healed, he would steal Moren's belongings, killing him if necessary. 

Of course, he couldn't kill either of them now, now that Arelle was his blood-relative. But he still planned to steal from them when he was recovered. Not that they had much to steal, especially not Moren. But Arelle did have a wooden box she kept in the corner of the tent, which he thought might have something moderately valuable in it, seeing how she was keeping it in the corner farthest from him under a stack of pelts. In fact, he probably wouldn't have noticed it, had it not been for him being an expert thief. But first things come first, he would have to heal completely before anything else. Suddenly Arelle stood up. 

"I'll be back." She muttered as she left the tent. He sighed and lied back down on the mat. 


	6. Chapter 5: Crying in the Forest

Author's Notes: Hey all, I hope you've all enjoyed this fic so far! I wanted everyone to know that from this week on, I plan to update with a new chapter every week. The new chapter will go up every Wednesday, if all goes as planned. I hope you've enjoyed the fic, and if you have, I'd really appreciate it if you'd review Arelle or email me. It's hard to find inspiration, but a encouraging email or review almost always inspires me to write more ^^

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"I'm very sorry about all this, Moren." Arelle said as she sat down in front of the fire next to him. 

"About what?" 

"That I… Well, that my uncle is…A Cutthroat…And that I made you let us take him in, even though it's dangerous and he's an outlaw." 

"Arelle," Moren said, "He's your blood-relative, of course you want to help him." Arelle looked at the ground, obviously ashamed. He lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes. "Arelle, don't be disgraced by something your uncle is. It changes nothing about who you are. I wouldn't care if all your relatives were Cutthroats, it wouldn't change my feelings towards you." 

Arelle blushed furiously. 

"I mean," Moren continued quickly as he realized how it sounded, putting his hands back in his lap and looking away, "Feelings as a friend and…all." He stuttered. 

"I better go get some more firewood." He said after an awkward pause. He got up and walked quickly into the forest, leaving Arelle staring into the fire, still blushing. 

************ 

"Supper is ready." Arelle said as she walked back into the tent. 

"Ah, very good! Thank you very much for bandaging all my wounds, lass." She smiled at him with a half-forced smiled. 

"Would you like to eat in the tent, or by the fire outside?" 

"By the fire, if you would be good enough to help me up." Arelle leaned down and helped Akinen up and out of the tent to the fire. He sat down on a tree stump next to the fire. Just then, Moren came out of the forest with a load of firewood in his arms, staring down blankly at the ground, as if he had his mind on something. When he saw the two by the fire he smiled at them and set his firewood down beside the fire. Arelle was busy preparing a plate full of food for Akinen. The plates were actually just slender slabs of wood that Moren had carved into a round, plate-like shapes. 

"Well, I suppose I'll eat without a plate, seeing as how we only have two." Moren said. 

"Thanks." Arelle mumbled. 

"Sorry to cause so much trouble for you, lad." Akinen said. 

"No trouble at all!" Moren said smiling cheerfully at him. 

After dinner, Moren took out his lyre. 

"Who's for a little music before we sleep?" Arelle smiled at him with the first genuine smile she had had all day, and he smiled back at her. Akinen also nodded, seeming glad to hear a little music. "Very well, then." Moren said as he began to play. The first tune he played seemed to be a rather slow and steady tune, but also seemed happy. It reminded Arelle of the days she spent playing in her grandmother's garden with her sister Arella. The tune lasted for quite a while, and by the time it was finished, Arelle was completely relaxed, staring off into the night sky. Akinen also seemed to be enjoying it and was slumped over, staring into the fire. When the tune ended, Akinen looked down at Arelle, who was sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the fire from him. 

"I was wondering…" he began. Arelle jerked up and looked up at him, no longer in her relaxed, serene mood. "I was wondering, my lass… Well, I don't mean to pry, but why is it exactly that you are out here?" Arelle's face hardened slightly, and Akinen went on, "Nothing's wrong with my brother…Is there?" 

"No, last I saw of Father, he was fine." 

He paused, "Then…Why?" 

"I'm studying to be a Cleric. Moren is my teacher." 

He looked at Moren, now, who was staring into the fire with a solemn face. "A Cleric, eh? I see… So, why does that require you to be in the Greater Faydark forest?" 

"Because that's where Moren lives." She replied hotly. 

"I see… And, how did you and Moren meet?" 

Arelle glared up at him now. "And, why did you decide to become a Cutthroat, Akinen? Was it just to bring dishonor upon us all, or was it because you were ashamed of your hideous face?!" She yelled as she jumped up and ran into the forest. By then Moren and Akinen were standing as well, and Akinen had a half angry, half ashamed look on his face, as if he couldn't decide which he should be at the moment. Moren glanced at Akinen, then towards the direction Arelle went, then back to Akinen. 

"I..." Moren stuttered. Then he made a determined face and ran after Arelle. 

Moren ran through the thick brush, smelling the air and listening for Arelle as he went. Then he paused. 

"Arelle!" He yelled. "Arelle! Where are you?" He stood perfectly still, listening for her. He heard what sounded like a sob to his right and turned. He walked that way until he saw Arelle sitting at the trunk of a tree, silently sobbing into her arms. 

"Arelle…" he said, walking up to her. She looked up at him, then continued sobbing silently into her arms, which rested on her knees. "Arelle, are you sad because he disgraced your family, or are you sad that you ran away?" he asked, sitting beside her. She didn't reply. "It wasn't your fault you had to run away. You did it to save your loved ones. It wasn't out of selfishness. I'm sure they'd understan-" 

"You don't understand, Moren! Don't you see?! I'm just as much of a disgrace as Akinen! I ran away from home! I disgraced my own family, just like he did! I have no right to look down at him, I'm the very same!" She cried out, sobbing. He put his arm around her to comfort her, and she turned to him and began to sob into his shoulder. 

"Arelle, what you did was nothing like what your uncle did. You ran away so you wouldn't cause trouble to your family. And while I don't exactly think it was the right thing to do, you did it for your family. And you _didn't_ go join the _Cutthroats_!" He said, trying to comfort her. "Besides…Soon you'll be able to control your magic, and then you will return to your family." At this, his voiced seemed to waver slightly, but he stopped it and moved on quickly. "So you see? What you did wasn't at all like what he did! Don't be so sad!" At this he pulled away to look at her face, trying to smile to encourage her. She began to sob less and wiped a few tears away with her hands, but then suddenly hugged him again and began to cry on his shoulder more. 

She must've needed to cry for a long time, but was never able to let it out. But now that she had started, she cried for along time, there on his shoulder. And he let her, gently patting her back reassuringly. 

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back, or if you had run off and left me here!" Akinen said as the Arelle and Moren walked up to the fire. He said it cheerfully, but his face was solemn. Arelle glared at him, but when he looked at the ground in shame, her face softened. 

"I…mm…" She stuttered, "I…I'm sorry." He jerked up and looked into her face surprised. "I should've said those things." She said. 

He paused. "It's alright, lass. I really deserved what you said, anyway. For what it's worth, it wasn't my intent to shame yer family. I would never want that." Akinen said. She slightly smiled at him. Maybe she should give him a chance… 

*************** 

Lilliah stood perfectly still in the middle of the lake. Suddenly she jerked her hands into the water and pulled them out quickly. Between her hands was a decent sized fish. She stuck her fingers in its gills so it couldn't slip back into the water and made her way back to the shore. She sat down on the ground next to the fire and began cleaning the fish. When she finished cleaning it, she stuck the fish on a stick and cooked it above the fire. 

After eating the fish, Lilliah sighed and stood up. She pulled her cloak tightly about her and pulled the hood down to where you could barely see her icy blue eyes. Then she walked on into the gloomy forest. 


	7. Chapter 6: Icy Blue Eyes

Lilliah paused, listening. She frowned and pulled her cloak even tighter against her, pulling her hood down to where nothing above her nose showed, as she walked toward the sound of yelling she heard. She came into a clearing where she could plainly see many filthy, disorganized looking tents. But the crowd of yelling men she saw in front of the tents was even filthier. She walked towards them slowly, but they didn't seem to notice her. They seemed to be arguing about something. 

Lilliah well knew who these people were. There was no mistaking a band of Cutthroats. They were one of the filthiest, meanest, and uncivilized clans in all of Norrath. She sighed inwardly and she thought, "And of all Norrath, these are the ones I am looking for?" 

She walked towards them slowly. Suddenly, one of the men drew his knife. Immediately all of the Cutthroats did the same. They looked as if they were just about to attack each other, when Lilliah cleared her throat loudly. Suddenly the whole band knew of her presence and turned to look at her with their dark, evil-looking eyes. Her heart skipped a few beats as she stared back at them with her icy blue eyes, but she didn't let her fear show in her expression. Then one of them spoke up. 

"Who… Are you?" He mumbled in a hoarse voice, as he squinted his black, beady eyes at her. 

"That is not of your concern." She paused. He glared at her. 

"Of what is your business here about?" 

"I am looking for Aka, the Scarlet Cutthroat." She replied. His eyes went wide, and many of the other Cutthroats let out small gasps. 

"You're looking for Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat, eh?" He said, slowly walking up to her. "And why might you be looking for him?" 

"That is not of your concern. Will you tell me where I can find Aka the Scalet Cutthroat?" He paused, peering at her. 

"Aka the Scarlet is no more." He replied, plainly. She gasped slightly, but regained her solemn expression quickly. 

"I don't believe you." 

"But it is true. His band was killed by those wretched Felwithien guards." 

"I don't believe you. Aka could never die." 

"Ah, but yet he did die. I know well, for I was there. He fought well, but I saw him fall myself." He paused. "Why would someone like you want to find The Scarlet Cutthroat, anyway?" He asked. 

She suddenly turned and began walking away. "I thank you for your help, though I could never believe Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat could ever die. Especially not in such a simple way." She said, walking briskly away. The Cutthroats watched her leave in silence. Suddenly, one of the Cutthroats charged at her, sword in hand. She swiftly turned, knocking her hood off, and sliced the cutthroat's arm completely off with one slice of her gleaming sword. She heard the entire band of Cutthroats gasp as they saw her long, red braid of hair and beautiful face with blue streaks of war paint on it. 

"It's a woman!" she heard many cry from the crowd. She paused briefly to see if any others would attack her. None of them moved an inch. She turned and continued walking away.

************** 

That night, she had a dream. 

"I see you're awake now, lass. Don't worry about anything, just rest," the man said as Lilliah slowly gained consciousness and opened her eyes. She quickly sat up straight on the mat. 

"Where am I?! What do you plan to do with me?!" She yelled, trying to stand up. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her legs were weak, too, and she flopped down on the mat again. She recalled being attacked by orcs some days ago, which would probably be why she was so wounded. 

"Don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm ye. If I did, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble to fool 'em." He paused. "Ye know, I really don't know why I'm doing this. Who knows what I'm thinking." He said as he brought a damp rag and laid it on Lilliah's forehead. She squinted at the pain her body felt. She slowly looked up at him. 

"It was you…" she trailed off. "It was you who saved me, before…" She mumbled. Her eyes suddenly widened and then she squinted as she glared at him, "And it was you who captured me!" As she ended she jerked away from him. "You're the leader of the Cutthroats, aren't you?!" 

He sighed. "Second in command at the moment, lass, but I've taken command of the band until Commander is well."

"You…" She spat at him, glaring. "You're a Cutthroat." 

"Yes, I am." 

"How can you say that so easily?" 

"It would be pointless to deny what I am." 

She paused. "What do you plan to do with me?" She asked. 

"I plan to heal you." 

"Really." 

"Really." He replied. 

"Why would you do that?" She asked. 

"That's a very good question, lass." 

"So answer it." 

He paused. "I don't know, lass. Maybe deep down I'm actually a good person." He paused for a moment, then chuckled at himself. She glared at him. "Look, lass, I don't plan to harm ye!" She stared at him for a moment, then turned away. "The others wanted to kill ye…" He trailed off. "But I didn't let them. It'd be best if ye could leave now and get away from the Cutthroats, but I know ye couldn't make it out there in the forest with these wounds. I'm not sure if ye could even make it out there without any wounds. Ye seemed to be having quite some trouble with those wretched orcs." She was still looking away. "I made up an excuse to keep ye here till yer healed. Just play along with it. As soon as yer well enough, I'll help ye escape. However, if you would like to leave now, I could help you escape now…" He trailed off. She looked at him, and then down at the many bandages wrapped about her. She felt the sharp, biting pain in her stomach. It was the worst wound, but her legs and arms were bruised as well, and her shoulder and back had both taken bad hits, as well. 

"No." She replied. "I'll wait until I'm healed." She looked into his eyes. "If that's all right with you, that is." 

*************** 

Lilliah awoke with a start. It was a dream. The same dream that had played in her mind since the day she met him. But it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory. A memory she cherished. Those memories had played over and over again so many times in these five years. Five years of training. Five years of waiting. But mostly, five years of deciding whether to chase a hopeless, unrealistic dream, or to stay where she knew she belonged. Well, after five years, she had finally decided on the unrealistic dream. 


	8. Chapter 7: Reunited

~*~*~*~IMPORTANT REGARDING CHAPTER 8 ~*~*~*~

Sorry everyone, but I'm not going to have Chap. 8 up on time, do to the fact that it's Christmas and I have a lot of family stuff and all. I have the first of the chap. written, and thought I might have the rest done soon, but I see I won't get it up in time. I'm really sorry about this. The normal schedule will resume next Wednesday. Sorry. Oh, and merry christmas to all of you readers! I hope God blesses you on this wonderful day!

"Why must I wash clothes? I hate washing clothes." Arelle mumbled as she walked through the forest to the creek. "Hmm…But I guess I hate cleaning animals more…All that blood…Yuck. I'm glad Moren doesn't mind," she continued. She looked at the few articles of clothing she was about to wash. She sighed as she remembered the rich clothing she wore in Felwithe. Now she glanced down at her present outfit, which consisted of a pair of black cloth pants and a brown tunic. She remembered how Moren had had her change her fancy outfit, just after a few days of being his apprentice. He had said she "probably couldn't climb a tree with such a dress on". Well, truth be told, she probably couldn't. Only once in her life had she climbed a tree before she met Moren. High Elves didn't think much of climbing trees, and apparently they didn't think much of having their children climbing trees, either. The time she climbed a tree she did so because she was curious how the world looked from above. But she had been careful not to let anyone see her. It would completely destroy her image as a respectable lady. 

Now that she was living in Greater Faydark, she climbed at least a few trees every day. She remembered how Moren had taught her how to climb trees easier and how to keep balance better. She had fallen quite a few times, but Moren was almost always at the bottom, ready to catch her, or at the top, grabbing her hand and pulling her back onto the tree. "Almost", because he wasn't always there to catch her. She couldn't really depend on him to always be at the bottom of the tree, arms open, ready to catch her. No, she had had quite a few falls since she arrived at this mysterious forest. 

She was close to the creek now and could clearly hear it. Suddenly she paused abruptly, listening. She heard something unusual. The sound of something raking across metal. She could see the creek through the tree branches now, and could also see someone in front of the creek. It looked like…A female Barbarian? It was hard to tell because of the black cloak wrapped around the figure, but the hood was pulled down so the face was easily visible. The figure appeared to be sitting on a rock… Sharpening a sword? Yes, that seemed to be it. Suddenly the figure stopped and looked in Arelle's direction. Arelle stood completely still, breathing lightly. The figure stood up now and raised the sword, preparing to strike whomever, or whatever, might come out of the bushes. 

"Is someone there?" a feminine voice said, facing the thick clump of underbrush Arelle was hidden in. Arelle didn't stir. Suddenly, a belt slipped out of Arelle's arms, the metal belt loop hitting the ground with a clank. The figure peered through the dense pines, now knowing the exact location, but still unable to make out Arelle's figure easily. 

"You don't look orcish… Are you friend or foe?" Said the figure. Arelle walked slowly out of the bushes towards the stranger. The stranger's eyes widened slightly in curiosity when Arelle stepped out of the underbrush. 

"A High-Elf?" She asked. 

"A Barbarian?" Arelle asked. 

"What is a young female High-Elf doing here, in the middle of Greater Faydark?" the stranger asked. Arelle paused. She knew she couldn't trust a perfect stranger. She paused. 

"Washing clothes, apparently." Arelle replied, simply. The stranger smiled slightly but quickly regained her solemn expression. 

"That's not what I meant." 

"I see." Arelle replied. 

"What are you doing in this forest?" She asked, again. 

"What are _you_ doing in this forest? _You're_ the stranger. _I_ live here." Arelle replied. The stranger was taken aback slightly, but then smiled. 

"My name is Lilliah." 

"Mine is Arelle." 

"Well met, Arelle." Lilliah said, sheathing her sword and extending her hand towards Arelle. 

"Indeed so, Lilliah." Arelle replied, clasping her hand with Lilliah's extended hand. They smiled at each other. Lilliah sat down on a rock, and Arelle sat down near her. 

"So…Do you really live in this forest?" Lilliah asked. 

"I do." Arelle replied. 

"Do you live here alone?" 

"No, I don't… And what brings you to this forest, Lilliah?" Arelle said. She didn't trust Lilliah enough to tell her about herself, even though Lilliah seemed nice enough. Lilliah paused. 

"I am looking for someone." 

"Looking for someone?" Arelle said, questioningly. 

"Yes…" Lilliah said, picking up her sword and beginning to sharpen it again. 

Arelle paused. "Who?" 

Lilliah paused, and looked up at Arelle. 

"A Cutthroat." Lilliah replied. 

"A specific Cutthroat?" Arelle asked. 

"Yes." 

"Who?" 

Lilliah paused. "Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat." Lilliah replied. 

Arelle was shocked! Lilliah was looking for Akinen! Why on earth would she be looking for Akinen? Perhaps it was the bounty on Akinen's head, for surely he had one since he was a Cutthroat, and no doubt a large one, at that. Yes, that would be logical. Well, she certainly couldn't tell Lilliah that Akinen was living with her. Although Arelle was still a bit mad at Akinen for becoming a Cutthroat, he was still her blood-relative. She could never forgive herself if she was responsible for her own uncle's death. 

"Indeed? After a Cutthroat, huh? Is it for the bounty?" Arelle asked while be the least suspicious she could. Lilliah glanced at Arelle. 

"Perhaps. I don't suppose…You don't know anything about the Scarlet Cutthroat, do you? Anything you know about him could help me." 

Arelle fidgeted a little. "Are you after him for the bounty?" Arelle asked again. 

Lilliah paused. "No, I'm not." 

"Why are you looking for him, then?" 

"Do you know something about the Scarlet Cutthroat?" Lilliah asked. 

"Why are you looking for him?" Arelle repeated. Lilliah stood up now and looked Arelle in the eyes. 

"You know where he is, don't you?" She asked. Arelle looked away. Liliah smiled excitedly. "I am a friend of Aka's." Lilliah said. Arelle stood up now, too. 

"How do I know you're not lying?" Arelle asked. 

Lilliah thought a moment. She had to think of a way to convince Arelle she was Aka's friend. Then she thought of something, "Aka's real name is Akinen." 

Arelle smiled, "he wouldn't tell that to anyone." 

"Then you know him? You know where he is? And will lead me to him?" 

Arelle paused. "Yes, I will. Follow me." Arelle said, picking up her laundry and heading into the forest, with Lilliah right behind her. 

******** 

On the way back to the camp Arelle and Lilliah asked each other questions. Arelle asked Lilliah how she knew Akinen, and Lilliah told her that she had been captured by Cutthroats and Akinen had helped her escape. Arelle wanted to know more about this, but Lilliah discreetly changed the subject. When Arelle told Lilliah that Akinen was hurt, Lilliah went into a panic. Arelle told her then that Moren had healed most of his wounds, which seemed to relieve Lilliah. Arelle told Lilliah that she was studying to be a cleric under Moren. Before any more could be said however, they arrived at the camp. 

Akinen and Moren were sitting outside the tent talking, and Lilliah froze when she saw them. Moren and Akinen heard them coming and stood up when they saw Lilliah. Akinen and Lilliah stared at each other in disbelief. Lilliah smiled widely, her eyes gleaming. 

"…Lilliah?" Akinen asked. 

"Akinen!" Lilliah cried joyfully as she ran forward and hugged Akinen. Akinen stood still in astonishment. 

"Lilliah! My goodness, it's been ages, lass!" Akinen said, hugging Lilliah. He then pulled away from Lilliah. "Lilliah, what are ye doing here, lass?" Lilliah just stared into Akinen's eyes, completely happy. 

"I came to find you!" She said, happily. He cocked an eyebrow at her. Suddenly she blushed. "I-I mean… I came to repay a debt." 

"A debt?" Akinen asked. 

"Yes…To you." Liliah replied. 

"To me?" 

"Yes." Lilliah replied. 

"Ye owe me nothing." Akinen said. 

"Yes, I do. You saved me from the Cutthroats." 

"I need no repayment for that, lass." 

"Yes, you do! I will stay with you until I can repay you. I've trained so long, Akinen! I'm finally strong enough to repay the debt." Lilliah said. 

"What about yer people? The barbarians? Ye should stay where ye belong, lass." Akinen said. 

"I belong beside you, Akinen. I will not leave you until I have repaid my debt to you!" She said sternly. 

Akinen sighed. "Yer really serious about this, aren't ye?" 

"Yes, I am!" She replied hotly. He stared at her, and then chuckled. 

"Very well, lass. Come sit down by the fire, now." Akinen said. She smiled happily and sat down beside him. 


	9. Chapter 8: Talking by the Campfire

Author's notes: Hey! Sorry this chapter's a bit late (ok...very late), but at least I got it up on Wednesday! My excuse for the delay this time (heh heh, there's always an excuse) is that I was busy with New Year's parties and New Year's stuff. Again, Wednesday has fallen onto a rather busy day for me. So that means I couldn't get around to trying to upload the fic until around 9PM, and then, when I tried to upload chap. 8, I couldn't login! Apparently they were having some technical difficulties. So, it's not _all_ my fault! You'll forgive me, right? Anyway, since I didn't update last Wednesday, I decided to make this chapter slightly longer, to somewhat make up for it. I hope you enjoy it!

I'de like to thank all the wonderfully kind people who have reviewed Arelle! It's so very kind of you ^^ I get so excited when I see a new review... Tess, Kage and Shiroi Yuki (my friends and fellow webmasters www.sailorchibimoon.com) should know! I'de just like to say to those that have reviewed my fic: Your kind words have brightened my days, encouraged me to do better in all things I do, not only writing, and truly made me glad I started writing Arelle.

Oh, and one more thing. Happy New Year! I wish everyone out there a wonderful new year, filled with happiness and love! The New Year represents a new beginning, a fresh start to life. I hope this year is the best year of your life yet, and that all the years after will be filled with the same goodness! God bless you all!!

~*~*~*~*~

Arelle sat on the ground next to the fire mending Moren's torn tunic. She didn't like sewing much. It required so much concentration and patience, and she had decided earlier in her life that sewing was not one of her best talents. 

"Arelle?! Is it true?!" 

Arelle turned to see Lilliah gasping for breath behind her, staring at her wide-eyed. 

"Is what true, Lilliah?" Arelle replied, confused. 

"THAT YOU'RE AKINEN'S NIECE!" 

"Oh…Well…yes. It's true." Arelle replied. 

"Arelle! Why didn't you tell me?" Lilliah asked. 

"Hmm…I didn't really think about it." 

"Didn't think about it? How could you forget that he's your uncle?" Lilliah asked. 

Arelle paused in silence, looking at the ground. 

"Lilliah, it's not that simple." Arelle replied. 

Lilliah looked at her confused. 

"What do you mean 'it's not that simple'?" Lilliah asked.

Just then, Moren came out of the forest holding firewood. Arelle noticed Lilliah was also carrying firewood. That's why Lilliah knew about Akinen being Arelle's uncle, no doubt. Moren must have told her while they were collecting firewood together. 

"Hello, Moren. When will we resume the magic lesson?" Arelle asked, standing up. 

"Oh, hi, Arelle! The lesson? We'll resume it after lunch." Moren replied. 

"Very well. I will go check on the soup. It's probably ready by now." Arelle said as she walked off quickly in the direction of camp. Moren and Lilliah watched as she left. 

"Moren, is there something I should know about Arelle and Akinen? I noticed before, but they don't seem to like each other too much. Well... Maybe it's just Arelle. She seems to avoid Akinen a lot," Lilliah said. 

"Lilliah…It actually just kind of slipped out that they were related. I didn't mean to say that. Though they are related, I wasn't sure if they would want you to know it." Moren said, sighing. 

"Why is that?" Lilliah asked. 

"Well…It's somewhat complicated, Lilliah. Akinen sort of disgraced the Mah'Alimahs…" Moren said. 

"Disgraced?" 

"By joining the Cutthroats." Moren replied. Lilliah stood, pondering what she had heard. 

"I see, now…" Lilliah said. "Yes, I remember him mentioning that before. But that's sad…Arelle is still mad at Akinen for something he did so long ago?" 

"If I understand right, it was very disgraceful. Arelle doesn't talk about it, but I think her family could have been disgraced forever because of what Akinen did. But they weren't disgraced forever, I know, because when I met Arelle, I knew she was rich and respectable. So something must have happened to her family that made them gain their respect back. I'm not sure what it was." Moren said. 

"I see. Well, it's still sad for Akinen." Lilliah said. 

"Yes, it is..." Moren said. 

"Akinen seems proud of Arelle. I know he must be sad that she's still mad at him. I have to change this. I can't let Arelle be mad at Akinen for something he did so long ago. I have decided to change Arelle's mind." Lilliah said as she walked off towards camp. Moren stared after her, and then ran to catch up.

********* 

That night at dinner, everyone sat near the fire to warm themselves. The winter was nearly upon them, and the colder weather made that fact constantly apparent to them. Surprisingly, however, Lilliah seemed to be at home with the cooler weather. She didn't seem to be cold at all. Arelle guessed it was because she was from up north and, no doubt, lived in Hallas, the Barbarian city, where it was constantly snowing. She suspected Lilliah sat beside the fire, next to Akinen, only to be friendly, rather than gain warmth from the fire. 

"It looks like your wounds are practically healed now, Akinen." Moren said as he slurped some stew from his bowl. 

"Yes… I believe so. Thanks to all of ye. I am deeply in yer debt." Akinen said this to the whole group, but Lilliah saw that mostly he looked at Arelle when he said this. Lillliah could easily tell that he sought Arelle's forgiveness. Even if Akinen had disgraced the Mah'Alimahs, Arelle shouldn't have held it against him for such a long time. I mean, he did it when he was a very young man! He was a middle-aged man now! 

"We were glad to help you, Akinen." Moren said. Arelle sat next to Moren, looking into the fire and silently sipping out of her bowl of stew. Even while slurping stew out of a bowl, Arelle still had the air and manners of a respectable lady. 

"I must thank you too, Moren and Arelle, for letting me stay with you." Lilliah said. 

"It was no trouble at all, Lilliah. We're glad to have you with us." Arelle said, smiling at Lilliah. 

"You're too kind, Arelle. Truly, you have such a kindness in you…" Lilliah said, smiling back at Arelle. "...Just like your uncle." Arelle seemed somewhat surprised at Lilliah's words, but quickly regained her manners and smiled at Lilliah before staring back into the fire. 

"Thank you." Arelle replied. 

"Ah yes, I remember all the many good things Akinen did for me. You do remind me a bit of him, now that I think about it. At least in the fact that both of you are so warm-hearted and kind." Lilliah carried on. Arelle stared into the fire, while Akinen seemed somewhat embarrassed at the praise he was receiving and fidgeted a little. 

"You sound like you have a lot of interesting stories about Akinen." Moren said. 

"Indeed so. Many tales of his kindness." Lilliah replied, happily. 

"Why don't you tell us some?" Moren said, relaxing back in his seat, preparing himself for a long tale. 

"Ah, indeed! A splendid idea. Now…which tale should I tell?" Lilliah said. 

"How about…How about when you met Akinen?" Arelle said, looking up at Lilliah. Lilliah paused. 

"That is a rather long tale." Lilliah replied. 

"Indeed it is," Akinen said, standing up. "And a tale that should be left for a night when it is not so late." 

"Very well." Arelle said, standing up as well. Lilliah and Moren stood up now, too. 

"Then I shall see you all in the morn." Akinen said, lying on his mat beside the fire. 

*********** 

Since Lilliah and Akinen arrived, the sleeping order had changed a bit. Akinen and Moren slept outside on mats by the tent, while Arelle and Lilliah slept inside the tent. Of course, they still each had their watch, and whenever one's watch was over, they would wake the next to take watch. It had been rather common when Arelle first arrived that orcs and other monsters attacked them during the night. The tent seemed to make them look like an easy target for some reason. But as of more recently, creatures seemed to have learned that their tent was not such an easy target. Now it was rather rare to be attacked by orcs, though some small creatures with less sense still attacked occasionally. Really, though, the party never expected anything they couldn't handle to come out at them during the night. It was actually more dangerous in the day. 

As Arelle lay on her mat, preparing to sleep, she went over the events of the day in her mind. Why hadn't Akinen wanted Lilliah to tell how they met each other? He had acted slightly embarrassed about it. Had it been that he was embarrassed about how they met? And so he didn't want Lilliah to tell? Why was he like that? The one time when she was interested in hearing about him, and he wouldn't let her! Lilliah certainly seemed to like Akinen. And she also seemed to respect him. He must've been kind to her when they knew each other before. But it was more than that. Everything Lilliah did seemed to somehow have something to do with Akinen. She wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Akinen. She always sat by him, she talked to him all the time, and when she worked, she was always working for Akinen's sake. Well, she had come to repay her debt to Akinen, so it made sense she would hang around him so much. But it seemed more than just wanting to repay her debt that she hung around him, constantly talking to him and smiling so happily. Arelle liked Lilliah. On the outside, if Lilliah didn't know you, she seemed to be rather cold and emotionless. Like when Arelle had first met Lilliah, at the river. But after she had gained some of Lilliah's trust, Lilliah seemed to be less cold and reserved. And now that Lilliah was living with them, she was always smiles and kind words. Especially when she was around Akinen. Lilliah seemed to have a deep care for everyone around her, not only Akinen. And she never treated Arelle like a child, though Lilliah was nearly three times Arelle's age. Lilliah was actually just a bit younger than Akinen. Now that Arelle thought about it, Lilliah was the only girl she knew out here in the forest of Greater Faydark. 

Moren was also a good friend, though. Truly, he was like family. Arelle had become so comfortable around him these days. She knew he felt a need to always protect her, like a big brother, and she liked it. He was always so kind to her. When she had lived in Felwithe, Arelle was known for her fiery temper and her determination to do everything by herself. When she first arrived at Greater Faydark, she had continued to act that way. Soon, however, her fiery temper gave way to the kindness Moren always showed her. He was such a gentlemen in some ways. In Felwithe, all the boys thought of her as something like a tomboy. Some were even afraid of her. But never once had Moren treated her the way the High-Elf boys had. And he was never truly afraid of her, even when her fiery temper sometimes acted up. And if anything, he seemed to think her fiery temper only added to her fascinating personality. She recalled one certain day when she was so mad at him she accidentally lit his arm on fire. Fortunately, she had been able to quickly dowse it out with a bowl of water. After the accident, Moren never even gave her a mean look. In fact, he started laughing out loud. Arelle had been confused and aggravated at him for it at first, but soon began chuckling with him. They had had quite a few good laughs about that time together since then, but Arelle was still slightly embarrassed about the incident whenever it was brought up. 

And then there was Akinen. Arelle frowned inwardly, thinking about him. She knew in her heart that she should forgive him. He deserved her forgiveness. But, somehow, her pride seemed to get the better of her on the subject. 

Arelle rolled over onto her back, staring with her half-opened eyes at the starry heavens above. They were the same stars she had seen in Felwithe, except these stars seemed to have more of a peaceful, serene look. Or was it herself that was more peaceful than when she lived in Felwithe? 

Arelle rested her head to the side so she could see through the crack between the flaps at the opening at the tent. She could see Moren, leaning over the fire, warming his hands. She watched him until her eyes slowly closed and she fell into a light slumber. 


	10. Chapter 9: Lilliah's Rescuer

Author's notes: Hey, everyone! Just wanted to say that, since web design is one of my fav hobbies, I took a few hours out of yesterday to make an EQ site. It's not much, but it does have some info on Arelle, as well as my other EQ characters, and you can also see a pic of Arelle. The Arelle that I play on EQ and the Arelle in this story are different in some ways, but the one in the story was based off the one that I play. So, go check it out! The site is called Amai's EverQuest Site (how original I be), and the addy is www.sailorchibimoon.com/everquest/index.html. Go, now!

Sorry the updates have been really late recently, but something's really whack with FF.net, and most of the time I can't log in to upload a new chapter. Some of the time I can't even get to their main page! Grrr.. 

Oh, and btw, all hail Digitaru, for she reviews all my chapters! Yay!

*****************

Arelle squinted in pain as she accidentally pricked her finger on a thorn while reaching for some berries. She jerked her hand back and tried to pull the small thorn out of her finger.

"Hello, Arelle!" Lilliah said coming out of some nearby bushes, startling Arelle so much that she jumped slightly.

"Lilliah! Great Tunare, don't scare me like that! I thought I was about to be attacked!" Arelle said, laying down the sword that she had reflexively drawn when she was startled.

"Oh, sorry! I was just carried away and didn't think about it." Lilliah said, walking up to Arelle.

"It's fine, Lilliah." Arelle replied.

"May I help you pick berries?" Lilliah asked.

"Of course. I would appreciate your help." Arelle said, passing Lilliah a large, wooden bowl to put the berries in. She then resumed picking berries, and Lilliah did the same. "Moren's out hunting for our supper, and he left me picking berries. "Oh, that's so annoying! I hate picking berries! I'd much rather be killing a wolf for our supper!" Arelle sighed in frustration. Lilliah furrowed her brows.

"Killing... A wolf? For our supper? I see... But... Why a wolf, Arelle? Why not a rabbit or something?" Lilliah asked. Arelle looked at her questioningly.

"Well... Yes, I suppose a rabbit would do, too. I was just saying 'wolf' as an example... " Arelle said, wondering what Lilliah meant.

"Oh. Well, that's fine then." Lilliah said.

"Do you not like to eat wolf?" Arelle asked. Lilliah paused before replying. 

"The wolves are my friends," She replied.

"Your friends?" Arelle asked, questioningly.

"Yes... Not all wolves as much as certain ones, though. My ancestors, when they died, turned into Wolf Spirits. They have the spirits of my ancestors, but they live in the forms of wolves." Lilliah said. "The Wolf Spirits protect me whenever they can. I haven't seen them around for at least a few weeks, though. They come and they go as they choose. Who knows where they wander off to." 

Arelle paused, thinking about it. It seemed like it would be nice to have your ancestors constantly looking out for you like that. 

Suddenly, Lilliah remembered what she had come to Arelle for. "Oh, yes. Umm, Arelle?" Lilliah asked.

"Yes?" Arelle replied, looking up at Lilliah.

"You don't dislike Akinen, do you?" Lilliah asked. Arelle turned back to her berry picking.

"Dislike? Well... What makes you like Akinen so much, Lilliah?" Arelle said, changing the subject.

"Oh, I like everything about Akinen." Lilliah said, suddenly smiling brightly.

"How can you say that so assuredly?" Arelle asked, questioningly. Lilliah's bright smile seemed to fade slightly. She stopped picking berries and sat on the ground. Arelle sat next to her, wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Perhaps now I should tell you how I met Akinen." Lilliah said, starting her tale. "When I first met Akinen... So long ago, it seems now. At the time I was an outcast. I was wandering in Greater Faydark woods with no home, and little ability to protect myself. I was attacked by a band of orcs who came at me by surprise. There were five of them, all Orc Centurions. I was weak at the time, and unable to defend myself. It still brings back painful memories as I remember their heavy blows against me. I screamed a loud, painful yell, thinking it would be the last time I would hear my own voice again. 

Moments later, when I was at the brink of unconsciousness, I saw a man suddenly jump out and attack the orcs. The orcs quickly ignored me in their battle with the brave man. I watched him kill them all, and then I saw him turn to me. It was the first time I could clearly see his face, and now I saw that his face was covered with a gruesome scar. I was scared of him. I used my strength to try to roll away from him, but he knelt beside me and began bandaging my wounds. But as I watched him, I could see he was nervous and stressed about something. He bandaged my worst wounds very hastily, but gently. Suddenly, I heard a loud whistle. The man stood up quickly and looked into the direction it had sounded from. He had a concerned look on his face as he looked first in the direction of the whistle, then back at me, then back towards the whistle. Suddenly, he leaned down and picked me up in his arms. I struggled to get away, but I was too weak. I was surprised he was strong enough to be able to carry me so easily, since I was Barbarian and he was High Elf. He swiftly ran to some nearby dense underbrush and laid me down gently in it, moving the bushes around me to completely conceal me, and laying something beside me. All this he did within seconds, and after one more look at me, he ran off in the direction of the whistle.

I spent several cold nights in that bush, though I don't remember how many. The days and nights ran into each other, and I couldn't tell when one was turning into the next. My mind was numb, and I rarely slept. Most of the time I spent in that bush, I watched the green leaves above me with half-open, hazy eyes. When I was well enough, I looked down at what he had laid by me before he ran off, and found a loaf of bread and a canteen of water. I was eager to eat this food he left for me, but it did not quench my hunger fully. My stomach growled with hunger, but my wounds were what caused me the most pain. One of the bushes within reach of me was a berry bush, but the berries were just ripening, and many were so sour that they only added to my torment. The Wolf Spirits came to me at this time, and tried to help me in ways that they could. The laid by me to give me warmth, and when an enemy wandered by they attacked and killed it so that it wasn't able to hurt me while I was weak. They tried bringing me food, but I couldn't eat raw meat as they did, so I was unable to eat any of it. Eventually I was well enough able to stand, thanks to many of wounds being bandaged. The man had left some unused bandages next to me, and I used these to bandage my other wounds, myself. As soon as I was able to, I left the area. The stink of the decaying Orc Centurion corpses had haunted me for long as I lay there in the bushes, and I knew I had to escape the fowl odor, I continued my wandering in Greater Faydark. I had no real destination. So, when deciding which direction to go, I decided to go in the direction the man had left.

For a few more days I continued slowly walking in this direction, taking many breaks to rest and many more to find food. The wolves followed me for several days, but after it looked like I was all right, they wandered off on their own again. Then, suddenly, I was ambushed by orcs. It was another band of orcs, though this time only three Centurions and a few Pawns. Still, with my wounds, I was unable to defend myself against the assault. I struggled to get away, but it was of no use, and I yelled in pain. Something inside me longed for the man with the scar to come back and save me. I watched for him until I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I realized I was being carried in someone's arms. But it was much different than being carried in the man's arms. I slowly opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar face. The man who was carrying me was apparently a Barbarian, like me, but he looked awful. His face was covered in dirt, and he smelled as if he hadn't taken a bath in months. I didn't like him, and I decided I didn't want to be in his arms. So I used my strength to try to push away from him. Of course, it was no use, for I was terribly wounded and could've have stood straight on the ground.

"Who... " was all I managed to choke out. My body was covered with wounds, and the pain was nearly unbearable. I closed my eyes in pain. He didn't seem to hear me, or if he did, he kept walking. Soon I felt him come to a halt. I heard some voices. One of them was the man who carried me talking. Although I was at the verge of unconsciousness, I tried to listen carefully to what they said.

"What's that bundle of rags ya holding?" came a rough voice.

"We was in the forest, on patrol, when came across a bunch of them filthy orcs. They was fixin to eat this here girl, havin already killed her five burly bodyguards. But seein as we're so much stronger than them stinkin citified bodyguards, we managed to take them down. Them city-folk, what calls themselves fighters, only killed four amongst 'em, but we slaughtered more than fifteen." One of the men said, obviously exaggerating things to an incredible extent.

"Commander's busy right now. 'Et's kill 'er now, I'm sure the Commander won' mind."

She heard this talking and was frightened. She would have pushed away, had she felt able to move her body. Then, suddenly, she heard another man coming.

"Aka, look at the prey we've found!" One of them snarled. There was a silence.

"I see." He replied.

"Yah don't thank the Commander wou'd mind if we kill'd 'er now, do yah?" Aka paused.

"Don't kill her." Aka replied. The man paused in confusion.

"What? What do yah mean?"

"I have decided now. She'll be my woman." Aka said.

"Are yah sure? Look how bloody she is! Yu'll have to heal her up, 'n that'll be a lot of trouble."

Lilliah felt herself being laid into another man's arms, the one they called Aka. She used the last of her strength to open her eyes. Looking up into a face she saw the man that had rescued her in the forest and bandaged her wounds.

"It's... you... ." She managed to mumble. He looked down at her with a solemn face.

"Did she say, 'it's you'? Do yah know 'er, Aka?" One of them asked. She could see him shake his head.

"She's just seeing things." Lilliah heard him say, as she lost consciousness again from the pain.


	11. Chapter 10: The Confession

** Author's Notes:** Yay! Chapter 10, at last can you believe we're already at chapter 10? I can't! 

So, since it's a special occasion, I'm going to write a little about the Arelle story. If you're in a hurry, skip this, if your anxious to get to the story, skip this, but if you want to hear me jabber, stay, listen, and learn, for all are welcome. 

I really never thought Arelle would make it this far. Although I knew she had a lot of story to write, I never thought I'd be able to stick to it long enough to get it all out. Right now is as good a time as any to tell you that Arelle will be a long, long story. I haven't written HALF of the stories that Arelle experiences. If Arelle ends in 20 chapters, I will be very surprised. So, basically, Arelle is more like a novel than a fanfic.

Now that I'm finished with that, let me say that I've been writing so much recently! I've already got two more chapters ready for posting! That is something I've never done before. Usually I end up having to write the ending the day it goes up. That's why they're always late. But not today. No, not today. Today will be EARLY! ^.^ Ahem. And not ONLY have I written more Arelle, but I've also started a new fic. This one's based in the White Wolf pencil & paper RPG game that we play, Exalted. It's actually just a document of all our adventures, written in story form. I already have two chapters, but I can't post it on FF.net until I've told our RPGing group and showed it to them. Once I get their approval, up it goes!

Ok, now I'll be quiet and let you read the fic. Enjoy! Oh, and as always, reviews are oh-so-very-very-welcome-and-appreciated!  
*********************** 

** Last time on _Arelle_:**

Lilliah began telling Arelle about how she met Akinen. The chapter ended when Lilliah was telling how the Cutthroats captured her, but Aka, one of the Cutthroats, wouldn't let the others hurt Lilliah. 

"I see you're awake now, lass. Don't worry about anything, just rest." Lilliah heard Aka say as she slowly gained consciousness and opened her eyes. She quickly sat up straight in the bed.

"Where am I?! What do you plan to do with me?!" She yelled, trying to stand up. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She recalled how she had been beat up by a band of orcs the previous day. Her legs were weak, too, and she flopped down on the mat again.

"Don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm ye. If I did, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble to fool 'em." He paused. "Ye know, I really don't know why I'm doing this. Who knows what I'm thinking." He said as he brought a damp rag and laid it on Lilliah's forehead. She squinted at the pain her body felt. She slowly looked up at him.

"It was you..." she trailed off. "It was you who saved me, before..." she mumbled. Her eyes suddenly widened and then she squinted as she glared at him, "And it was you who captured me!" As she ended, she jerked away from him. "You're the leader of the Cutthroats, aren't you?!"

He sighed.

"Second in command at the moment, lass, but I've taken command of the band until Commander is well."

"You..." She spat at him, glaring. "You're a Cutthroat."

"Yes, I am."

"How can you say that so easily?"

"It would be pointless to deny what I am."

She paused.

"What do you plan to do with me?" She asked.

"I plan to heal ye."

"Really."

"Really." He replied.

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

"That's a very good question, lass."

"So answer it."

He paused.

"I don't know, lass. Maybe I am searching for a scrap of goodness left inside me," he paused for a moment, then chuckled at himself. She glared at him. "Look, lass, I don't plan to harm ye!"

She stared at him for a moment, then turned away.

"The others wanted to kill ye..." Aka trailed off. "But I didn't let them. It'd be best if ye could leave now and get away from the Cutthroats, but I know ye couldn't make it out there in the forest with these wounds. I'm not sure if ye could even make it out there without any wounds. Ye seemed to be having quite some trouble with those wretched orcs." She was still looking away. "I made up an excuse to keep ye here till yer healed. Just play along with it. As soon as yer well enough, I'll help ye escape. However, if you would like to leave now, I could help you escape now..." He trailed off. 

She looked at him, and then down at the many bandages she was wrapped in. She felt the sharp, biting pain in her stomach. It was the worst wound, but her legs and arms were bruised, and her shoulder and back had both taken bad hits, as well.

"No." She replied. "I'll wait until I heal." She looked into his eyes. "If that's alright with you, that is."

"Of course." Aka replied. Lilliah held her head in her hands as she suddenly felt dizzy.

"You should rest now." Lilliah heard him say, as her eyes shut and she fell unconscious again.

******************

When Lilliah awoke, she saw Aka at the other side of the tent. He turned towards her when he saw that she was awake.

"Finally awake, eh lass?" He said.

"Huh?" Lilliah said, slowly coming out of her half-asleep state.

"Ye were asleep for four days." He said.

"What? Four days? Wow..." Liliah said. She looked at her wounds and saw that they were all healing up nicely because they had been treated and bandaged with fresh bandages.   


"Me name is Aka. Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat." Aka said. Lilliah paused. Could this man really be trusted? He seemed nice enough...But he was a Cutthroat! Could she really trust him?

"Lilliah. My name's Lilliah." Lilliah said.

"A pleasure to meet ye, Lilliah. Welcome to my humble abode." He said, smiling half-jokingly. She gave him a half smile. Then there was a silence.

"I was somewhat conscious when they brought me to you." Lilliah said warily.

"I see. So ye heard the conversation?" Aka asked.

"Well...Yes. I did," she hesitantly replied.

"I don't plan to make ye my woman. It was just an excuse to let ye stay here until ye've healed enough to escape. It was the only thing I could think of that would keep them away from ye. Just play along with it, and it should be fine." Aka said. Lilliah paused before answering.

"I'm not sure if I trust you completely ...But...But if you really are looking out for me this much, I appreciate it. Maybe there is more than a scrap of goodness in you." Lilliah said. He smiled.

"'Tis an honor to have saved such a sweet lass. 'Tis not often I find such a damsel in distress to save." Aka said. Lilliah blushed at his words. Aka turned to a small wooden table with a small meal on it, consisting of some meat and bread. He gave the food to her, and after briefly eyeing it over, she eagerly ate it. He smiled at her as he walked out of the tent.

***********

"And that's how I met Akinen." Lilliah finished her story. Arelle sat on the grass, taking in all that she had heard.

"Wow...Yes, I see..." Arelle said.

"So you see, he's a nice guy after all. Even if he _is_ a Cutthroat." Lilliah said. "Later, when I asked him, he told me that when he first saw me, he wanted to help me, but he couldn't because he didn't want the Cutthroats to find me. He said that he was on patrol, but the whistle I could hear that made him leave was blown by the Cutthroats to tell those on patrol that they were moving camp. If he hadn't come back, they would have been suspicious and would've come looking for him. Then they would have seen me, and no doubt tried to kill me. He said that he wanted to help me heal completely, but there was no way he could think of to do it, because of the other Cutthroats. After they moved camp, he said, he thought about me and feared I wouldn't have survived the wounds. When his fellow Cutthroat captured me, he knew they would kill me, so he made up an excuse to keep me alive. He was going to help me escape when I my wounds had healed, but I fel-I mean, we became good friends. Still, he didn't want me to have to live with the Cutthroats. He said I should go back to the Barbarian lands, where I belonged." Lilliah paused now, suddenly silent. "So now you know how we met." Lilliah said. Arelle still sat silently.

"Lilliah...Be clear about this..." Arelle began. "I have wondered on this subject for a while, and it would be easing to know the truth on the matter, though I have a feeling I know the answer." Arelle paused. "Do you love Akinen?" Arelle asked. Lilliah was surprised by the sudden question, and she flushed red. There was a minute of silence between the two before Arelle spoke again. "Will you not tell me?" 

"Yes..." Lilliah whispered quietly. "Yes, I do." She said, louder. "I love Akinen with all my heart." She finished. Arelle looked surprised, but she had suspected it long ago.

"I see." Arelle said, looking at the ground in front of her.

"Arelle, I know you don't care much for Akinen because of what he did. But if you would give him a chance, if you would open up your heart, you would see the man he truly is. He's a man who's had a troubled life. He's made many poor decisions, some at huge costs to himself and, of course, to his family's reputation. But if you look further than his poor decisions, you would find that, inside, he is a very good man. He loves you so much, even though he knows you haven't forgiven him. Open your heart to him, Arelle. Open your heart." Lilliah said, looking into Arelle's eyes.

********************

Moren and Akinen set their bundles of firewood down next to the fire. Moren smiled at Akinen.

"Thank you for your help, Akinen." Moren said. Akinen smiled back at Moren.

"I was more than glad to help you." Akinen replied. "Moren...I'm not sure what I should do." Akinen said, brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" Moren asked, questioningly.

"Well... I... " Akinen began, nervously. He furrowed his brows and sat down on a stump near the fire. Moren sat down next to him.

"I don't know if I should go back to the Cutthroats again or not. Since our band of Cutthroats was disbanded, the few that may have survived will come back to the main hideout. I don't know... I don't know if I want to still be a Cutthroat. When I was young, I loved the adventure in it...But now, while I still love adventure, I see all the wrong they do. It never hindered me so much before, except at the very start, but the kindness you and Arelle have showed me has made me think about my life. I am getting the feeling that I might actually want to get married, have kids, and settle down...Ah, maybe I'm just getting older. But being a Cutthroat is all I know how to do! How would I support a family?" Akinen ended in exasperation. Moren stopped to think.

"I don't know, Akinen. I don't know." Moren said. "However, I'm sure re-joining the Cutthroats can't be the right thing to do. But, if it's all right with Arelle, I would be glad to let you live with us until you decide on what you want to do. That is... If it's all right with Arelle..." Moren said. Akinen smiled.

"I would be very grateful if you would allow me to stay with you... If it's all right with Arelle. Perhaps by the time winter is over, I will have decided on what to do with my life." Akinen replied.


	12. Chapter 11: Moren's Childhood

Author Notes: Hope you've enjoyed Arelle so far! Remember, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Send me an email at amai@sailorchibimoon.com, or leave a comment! I'd really appreciate it ^.^

********************

**Chaper 11: Moren's Childhood**

A young High-Elf paused in front of the large, stone gate. His clothes were expensive and clean, but they had stains and worn spots covering them, showing they had been well worn. Beside the man, grasping tightly at his hand, was a little boy. The boy had a look of marvel on his face as he looked at the great gate and the large, white house behind it. 

"This is it," the man spoke. The boy looked on in awe. 

"This, Poppa? Are you _sure_?" asked the boy.

"I could never forget the house I grew up in," the man replied. The man walked to the guard standing at the side of the gate and began to talk to him.

"I am Rehlan Tello An'tomahsi, son of the late Marmall An'tomahi. I have come to see my mother, Mirel," the man, Rehlan Tello, said. The guard looked at the man, and then at the little boy grasping his father's hand.

"She has been expecting you. Come, follow me," the guard said, opening the gates for them and leading them down a path through the gardens to the house. All the while that they walked, the little boy gazed at everything around them and marveled at its magnificence.

"This place is really pretty, Poppa! I wish Momma were here to see it! Why didn't Momma come, Poppa?" the boy asked his father. Rehlan continued to walk, not looking down at his son.

"It would have caused difficulties," he replied. 

The boy paused, thinking, "What does that mean, Poppa?"

"Look at that pretty pond over there. See that pond? I spent much of my time as a child at that pond," Rehlan said. The boy was immediately distracted from his conversation, and looked over to see the green pond with the sunlight dancing upon its surface.

They reached the house now, and walked up the large stone steps, through the doorway, and into the spacious house. There, a ways in front of them, waiting for them, was a middle-aged lady, hair tied back neatly, with silver-white hair and green eyes. She was smiling widely, and as she ran to them, her expensive, flowing garments swerving back and forth about her. Once she was by them, she paused for a second, looking into Rehlan's eyes, before jumping into his arms, hugging him. He hugged her back, and as they stood there, the woman began to wipe away tears of joy. After a few minutes of this she pulled away from her son and looked him up and down. He caught a somewhat disapproving look in her eyes when she saw his worn clothes, but overall, she looked overjoyed to see him. She paused when she caught a glimpse of the little boy hiding behind his leg.

"Why... This must be little Moren!" The woman, Mirel, said while staring at him. Moren stared at her from behind his father's leg, too shy to come out.

"Yes, Mother. This is Moren Natsu An'tomahi. My son." He said, urging Moren to come out from behind his leg by gently pushing him. "Son, this is your Grandmother. Say hello to her," he said, urging Moren. Moren stared up at her.

"Hello, Moren dear. It's wonderful to finally meet you! And aren't you as cute as a kitten?" Mirel said, smiling at the boy.

"Hello... Grandmum... " Moren said, still behind his father's leg. She smiled with pleasure.

"Why don't you come into the dining room, so we can talk?" Mirel asked, addressing Rehlan. 

"That would be great," Rehlan replied.

******

And so the evening passed, and after much talking and visiting, Rehlan stood up to leave.

"Leaving so soon, Rehlan?" Mirel asked, standing up as well. Moren, who had quietly sat by his father the whole time, now got up, too.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, Mother. I must get back by night fall," Rehlan said.

"Why? It's the first time we've really gotten to see each other is five years!" Mirel asked. Rehlan looked somewhat awkward before answering,

"I promised Kilani," Rehlan replied. Mirel frowned.

"The Wood-Elf," she mumbled to herself, then regretted it. Rehlan frowned at her.

"Yes, the Wood-Elf. The woman I love. My wife," Rehlan shot back. They both paused in awkwardness. "Come, Mother, let us no longer quarrel about this. They are but old wounds that could quickly heal up and leave nothing but faint scars if left alone. What has been done has been done, and though we may regret some things, it does not help to linger on them and quarrel about them," Rehlan said.

"You are right, son. Past is past," Mirel said, smiling at her son.

"We shall see each other again, I hope? Before we leave again?" Rehlan asked.

"Oh, yes, of course we shall! The festival starts the day after tomorrow, and lasts three days! That means you'll be able to stay in Felwithe for five whole days! What a blessing it is that the King has declared a festival in honor of the armies who conquered the orcs in their last battle. I heard it was because of the King's servant, a Wizard called Asheetin. I heard he led them to victory," Mirel said, joyfully.

"It is a blessing indeed, Mother," Rehlan said, smiling.

**********

Moren lay down on his back with his eyes closed, but he was not asleep. He could hear the quiet crackle of the campfire beside him. Why were all these memories coming back suddenly, he wondered? These memories of his childhood... Of his family... They only caused pain to him. He lay still, trying to fall asleep, but sleep did not fall upon him. He opened his eyes and looked about the camp, unmoving. Unconsciously, his gaze rested on the sleeping figure of Arelle. 

After dinner she had accidentally fallen asleep by the fire, and none of the party wanted to have to wake the sleeping girl. Sleeping by the fire instead of inside the tent with Lilliah might be warmer for her, too. Arelle was incredibly strong and mature for her age. No wonder, for she had had to face many more troubles and difficulties in her life than any normal youth of her age. 

Moren closed his eyes as he began to recall more of the scraps of his childhood memories.

*************

"Ah, it is good to see you again this morning, Rehlan!" Mirel said, hugging her son who had just stepped into the house. "Unfortunately, you caught me at a rather bad time..." she said. "You see, in a few minutes one of my friends is going to have a party. Something like a pre-festival thing. I'm afraid I won't be back for another hour or two," Mirel said.

"Oh, that is fine, Mother," Rehlan said.

"I see you brought little Moren, too," said Mirel, glancing down at the boy. "Oh, what I shame I can not talk to you for long! Oh, but wait! I have a splendid idea! Would you mind letting little Moren come to the party with me?" Rehlan was surprised, but pondered the idea.

"Of course I'll keep him with me the whole time," said Mirel. "I'll keep a keen watch on him. And there'll be lots of other little boys and girls there, too! He will have a wonderful time. It will be quite an opportunity," Mirel ended, happily.

"I would, Mother, but I'm afraid he's never been apart from both his parents, and I don't think he'd know what to do. Besides, he wasn't brought up noble. He'll stick out form the other children and be mocked. And what if they find out that he is half Wood-Elf? They'd never leave him alone then," Rehlan said, frowning at the idea.

"Oh... I suppose you have a point, Rehlan. Very well. I just wanted to spend some time with my grandson," Mirel ended, unhappily. Rehlan felt somewhat guilty of depriving his mother from the chance to get to know his son.

"Well, to make it up to you," Rehlan said, "why don't you take Moren somewhere else today? Not to a party... not to a place where he could be so easily made fun of. But how about taking him to town, if you wish? It is true that you don't know each other as grandmother and grandson should. Would you like that, Mother? Or would Moren be a burden to you?" Rehlan asked.

"A burden? Why, or all the... No! Of course not! I would be delighted to take Moren to town! Oh, that would be such fun! Yes... Oh, yes. Then, it's settled?" Mirel asked.

"It's settled," Rehlan replied.

"Ok, can you bring him here in two hours after my party, please? And then we'll go to town, ok?" Mirel said, excitedly.

"Very well. Enjoy the party!" Rehlan said to Mirel as she walked down the path, waving goodbye to them.

**********

"Poppa, do I have to go?" Moren asked as he and his father walked down the path to the gates of his grandmother's house.

"Son, you'll have a great time. If I know the one thing Mother is good at, it's spoiling a child," Rehlan said, smiling ruefully.

"What does that mean, Poppa?" Moren asked.

"It means that she'll want to buy you lots of toys and sweets," Rehlan said. They were at the gate now, and after a word with the guard, they were let in. When they entered the house, Mirel was waiting for them, as always.

"Rehlan! Moren dear!" Mirel called, embracing Rehlan as she did every time she saw him. "What fun we shall have today, little Moren!" she said, turning to Moren and kneeling down to face him.

"Yes, Grandmum. Poppa says you're good at spoiling a child, and that you'll buy me lots of toys and sweets!" Moren said grinning innocently. 

Mirel paused. "Did he really? Well, I shan't disappoint him!" Mirel said, taking Moren's hand.

"Then I should pick him up at noon?" Rehlan asked Mirel.

"Oh, so soon? That will only give us four hours together!" Mirel complained.

"Four hours is plenty, Mother," Rehlan said.

"Very well. Noon, then," Mirel said, sighing. "Oh, and don't worry, Rehlan. I'll take good care of him! Don't worry, I've had practice being a mother before!"

"True, Mother. And compared to me, Moren wouldn't be much trouble for you to handle, I'm sure!" Rehlan said, smiling.

"My dear son, compared to you, Moren is a most heavenly angel!" Mirel said, laughing. Rehlan tried to give her a dirty look, but failed, and began laughing himself.

"Very well, Mother. Then I leave him to you," Rehlan said, turning to leave.

"Yes, Rehlan. I'll take good care of him! We'll have so much fun, just you wait and see!" Mirel said, smiling while waving Rehlan off.


	13. Chapter 12: The Festival

As the woman and child walked through the town, stopping at different shops, they talked and laughed. Both of them were having quite a good time. And indeed, Mirel did know how to spoil a child. She bought him everything he asked for, and much, much more. 

One of the first places they stopped at was at a clothing store. Moren had been able to wash up and take a bath at the nearby Inn they were staying at, but his clothes were tattered and torn. Mirel took him into the tailor shop and bought him two, brand-new outfits. In those days, two whole new outfits at one time were quite expensive.

Mirel and Moren went from shop to shop, buying little trinkets for Moren. Whatever caught Moren's eye, Mirel bought for him. Moren, new to this whole experience, was overjoyed. But a little five-year-old can't take too much excitement for too long, and eventually Moren began to feel sleepy.

Mirel, realizing that Moren was sleepy, decided to end the shopping spree. She ended the trip early, and took Moren home to her house, where he lay on the sofa and slept peacefully. He woke up about half an hour later to see Mirel sewing on the opposite sofa.

"Grandmum," Moren began, "thank you very much for taking me to town." She smiled at him widely.

"It was my pleasure. I hope we can do it again someday," Mirel said.

"Oh, yes! I would like that!" Moren said, smiling. Mirel paused, as if in thought for a moment.

"Would like to live with me, Moren dear?" Asked Mirel. The boy before her paused, considering.

"No, I don't think so, Grandmum," the five-year-old boy replied. She looked at him slightly confused.

"Why not, dear? If you lived with me, I would buy you all the toys you ever wanted. You would have lots of friends, go to school, and get a good education. Don't you want that, Moren dear?" she asked.

"I like the forest. I like the trees. I like the animals." Moren replied. Mirel was perplexed with his answer. "Besides, what about Momma and Poppa? I want to live with them. I'll always stay with them. Always. I love them. If they move back to this place, I will, too. I love my Momma and Poppa."

"Your father would be welcome to come back. It's your mother that's the trouble," she replied. He looked concerned.

"Oh, no, I could never ever leave my Momma. Momma is beautiful, wise, and gentle. I love Momma more than anything." Moren replied, with a troubled look on his face, just from thinking about leaving his mother.

"Beautiful, wise, and gentle? I see. But wouldn't your mother be more beautiful if she had smooth, ivory skin, and long golden hair, with robes of colorful, expensive cloth and bright jewels adorning her? Instead of her darker, muddy looking skin, with her ratty brown hair, and tattered, muddy, green and brown outfit? 

"Wouldn't your mother be wiser if she was well educated as a child, and grew up reading, writing, and learning lore and other important things? Instead of having a petty 'Wood-Elf's' education, which consists of learning about the shrub, the tree and the animal?

"Wouldn't your mother be more gentle if she had grown up in a noble family, and learned from when she was very little how to be a respectable lady? Instead, she was the daughter of a tailor, and never learned the polite, refined dignity of a respectable lady."

"Wouldn't your Momma be better… if she was a High-Elf? If my son had married a noble, respectable, High-Elf, instead of some simple Wood-Elf girl?" Mirel ended, watching the boy's reaction.

"My Momma's the most pretty girl in the world. She could never be prettier. And if Momma wore jewels on her, those jewels wouldn't seem like much after seeing Momma's bright, kind eyes. She doesn't need any jewels.

"If Momma had spent all day studying lore, maybe she wouldn't have learned the important things. Like how kissing a sore spot makes the hurt go away faster, or how adding your love into the food you prepare makes it taste better, or how being with people you love is the greatest treasure in all Norrath. All those things my Momma taught me, and I know they're more important than how to recite history.

"If Momma was a proper lady from a noble family, she might not feel as comfortable when we splash at each other in the rivers, or hide in blackberry bushes when we play hide-and-seek with Poppa, or run around the wide, open forest, playing.

"I love my Momma more than anything else. She's the best Momma in all of Norrath. And I'm glad she's a Wood Elf." Moren ended. Mirel sat still on her sofa.

"I see." She replied.

*********

The next day, Mirel, Rehlan, and Moren went to a parade, which was part of the festival.

"Hello, Rehlan, Moren," Mirel said, waving to her son and grandson.

"Grandmum!" Moren said, running up to Mirel. Moren grabbed onto Mirel's hand, causing Mirel to smile. Then she looked up at Rehlan.

"Where's the Wood Elf?" Mirel asked, seeing Rehlan and Moren alone.

"Kinali said she didn't want to be with so many High Elves. She said she would watch from inside a building where no one could notice her."

"How fortunate," Mirel let slip out, but fortunately the crowd was becoming loud, so Rehlan didn't heard her.

"Oh, look!" Mirel said, pointing to a small stand selling fresh muffins. Rehlan saw her pointing at the muffins and smiled.

"You always had a soft spot for muffins. Let me go buy you one," Rehlan said, making his way through the crowd to the stand before Mirel could tell him not to. Mirel kept a hold of Moren's hand, but as she was distracted by the many soldiers and performers coming down the street, she began to forget about Moren, and her grip slipped until she was touching him no longer.

Moren was excited by all the commotion around him, but he couldn't see over the dense crowds to look at the parade. Suddenly he saw something glitter out of the corner of his eye. There, a ways away from Moren, he saw a boy his own age. There was what appeared to be a diamond the size of his palm in the little boy's hand, and the boy was staring at it with pride. Moren ran up to the boy to take a closer look.

"What's that?" Moren asked the boy. The boy looked at Moren.

"It's a diamond, of course," the boy replied.

"Is it really? A real diamond?" Moren said in awe.

"Of course, silly. Who are you, anyway? You look weird," the boy said. Moren was taken aback.

"I'm Moren, son of Rehlan and Kinali An'tomahi."

"That tells me a lot. Wait, what was that name? Kinali? I've never heard that name before. It's certainly not a common High Elf name," the boy said.

"Why, it's not a High Elf name at all!" Moren said. "Kinali is my mother. She's a Wood Elf," Moren said plainly. The other boy gasped.

"You mean…" the boy said, whispering to Moren in a hushed voice, "You mean, you're half WOOD ELF?!" Moren was confused why he was so worked up over it.

"Well…Yes…I am…" Moren said, a little unsure. Suddenly the boy laughed into Moren's face.

"No wonder you're so silly! You're…half Wood Elf! And that's why you were gawking over this fake diamond: you've never seen one before! You haven't have you? I'm sure you haven't. Anyone who had seen a real diamond before wouldn't mistake this piece of QUARTZ for a DIAMOND!" the boy said, laughing at Moren. Moren's eyes began to swell up with tears.

"Wood Elf's aren't silly! And I've seen lots of jewels before!" Moren said in defense. By now two other boys, both also the same age as Moren, came over to see whom their friend was talking to. After the boy told the other boys about Moren, all three of them began to laugh at the poor, crying boy. Moren had never been teased this severely, and it hurt him deep inside. Suddenly he saw a cloaked woman in front of him, calling his name. She looked like she was in panic, but she couldn't see Moren through the crowds of people. Immediately Moren recognized the woman and pushed through the crowds to get to her. She kept wandering about nervously, calling for him. He tried to call back to her, but the crowd was too loud.

"Momma! MOMMA!" Moren cried, pushing through the crowds. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Moren!" she called as she spotted the young boy crawling under the crowds. She picked him up, the hood of her cloak falling down, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Moren! Oh, my angel! I saw you disappear into the crowd when I was watching from the building. I came out to find you, but you were no where to be found! Oh, Moren, my little angel! I was so worried!" Kinali, his mother, choked out, holding the young boy in her arms. Moren was still sobbing from the boys' teasing, but being held by his mother comforted him.

Suddenly Moren noticed that many of the High Elves around them were staring and pointing at them. He could hear them pretty clearly, even through the noise of the crowd, for they showed no attempt to hush their voices.

"Look! It's a Wood Elf!" said one, pointing.

"A Wood Elf? In Felwithe? Isn't there a law against that or something? We must keep these inferior races out of the city, or their habits will rub off on our own children!"

"Wait, is that boy she's holding High Elf or Wood Elf? Wait…Oh no, don't tell me… He's a half, isn't he?"

"Great Tunare, I think he _is_ a half!"

"Now _they_ should definitely be outlawed from the city."

The talking and pointing of the High Elves apparently didn't escape Kinali's notice, either, and she pulled her hood over her head as she went to go find Rehlan and Mirel to tell them Moren was safe.

***********

Moren rolled onto his side, resting his head on his arm as he watched the campfire before him. These were painful memories, indeed. On his very first visit to Felwithe, he was made fun of by boys his own age. What hurt so much about it was that he had never met any boys his own age before. He was so young and innocent. No one had ever said anything to hurt his feelings before that, because he had never known anyone except his parents. It was just cruel that they would make fun of him; it just crushed him. He never got over it, even to this day. Maybe it was silly for him to get so emotional over it, but it had made a deep wound when he was a child, and if anything, the wound had become bigger and bigger, rather than healing itself.

After that incident, he began to dislike Felwithe. In fact, he hated it. Those little boys… Those little Felwithe boys… They were cruel. All Felwithe was cruel. They had crushed his world when he was little. They hated him, and he hated them. And that's how it would always be. He would never go back to Felwithe.

He suddenly stood up, blinking back tears. He looked around the camp to distract his mind from those sad thoughts. Again, his eyes unconsciously rested on Arelle. He quietly walked up to her sleeping form and sat down next to her, cross-legged. He had never told Arelle all the reasons he hated Felwithe. She had never asked him more about his past, for she must have known it was painful for him to recall those memories. She was so mature for her age. Always thinking of others, always being so kind. 

Arelle was an outcast, too, he knew. She had run away, just like himself. Maybe that was why he felt so close to her? They were so similar in some ways. Silently, he touched her warm face with his hand. She was so cute when she took her hair down from her ponytail before she went to sleep. He wished she would always leave her long hair down, flowing about her always. But she was so active during the day, he knew it would get in her way.

Suddenly he saw her fist clench tight, and he heard her breathing become heavy and uneven. He frowned. She must've been having another nightmare. She had them all the time, and sometimes she awoke screaming. He looked down at her, wishing to comfort her.

"I will always protect you, Arelle," Moren whispered into her ear as she slept. "I will always protect you."


	14. Chapter 13: Visitors in the Night

"Arelle? Arelle? Wake up, Arelle," Moren whispered, gently shaking the sleeping girl covered with blankets awake. She yawned, looking up at Moren.

"What is it, Moren?" she asked groggily, pulling the wolf-skin blankets off of her enough to look at Moren.

"We should start early this morning, Arelle," Moren said, still speaking quietly. 

"Early?" Arelle said, looking up at him, "whatever for? It's so very cold. Shouldn't we start lessons later today, once it warms up a bit?"

"Arelle, winter is already upon us," Moren said, "It'll only get more and more cold. We should try to get all the training in we can before it gets even colder."

Arelle sighed, sitting up on the mat. "Very well," she said, grumpily. He smiled at her pouting face. She noticed it and glared at him.

"Arelle, you want to be able to control your magic fully, right?" Moren asked. 

Arelle's face turned serious and she stood up. "That's right," Arelle said. "That's right, Moren,"

Moren smiled at her. "Come, Arelle," he said, walking towards the forest. They walked quietly, so as not to disturb Akinen, who was asleep by the fire, or Lilliah, who was asleep in the tent.

*********

In the forest, Moren sat on a fallen tree while Arelle sat in front of him, on the ground. 

"Everything has a flow..." Moren began. Arelle sighed inwardly, preparing for a long talk from her teacher. "You can feel the flow of everything around you, if you sit down and look for it with your mind. Your magic is powerful for your age, Arelle. But you can't control it. Sometimes you unintentionally send out a negative magic. It disrupts the peaceful flow of everything around you. 

"See, magic is just manipulating the flow. What you're doing is you're manipulating the flow of something to change it. A good caster? can always feel the flow around him when he concentrates on it. He concentrates on an area he wants to burst in flame, and he uses his magic to manipulate the flow so that it's disrupted and bursts into flame. When a caster wants to heal a wound, he concentrates on a wound. He can feel the flow of the wound, and he uses his magic to focus on that wound, and he heals it by manipulating its flow.

"Some casters, though, have forgotten this. They've forgotten that everything has a flow, and they cast their magic differently. Even if you don't feel the flow-even if you don't even know about the flow-you can still manipulate it in some ways. Like you, Arelle. You didn't know about the flow, but you could still use magic. What you have, Arelle, is an incredible ability to manipulate the flow. Without feeling the flow, if trained correctly, some are able to cast spells by just concentrating on something, and the flow is automatically manipulated, without them even knowing what they were doing was manipulating it. But to be a true caster, to truly know what you're doing, and truly be able to use magic, you must be able to feel the flow. Do you understand, Arelle?" Moren ended.

Arelle had heard all this before. It was one of the first things Moren had taught her, actually. Yet still, she liked to hear it again. "Yes, Moren," Arelle said. 

He smiled at her. "Then I guess it's time for practice," he said, getting up.

*********************

"Are you ready, Arelle?" Moren asked.

Arelle looked at the items Moren had placed before her. Sitting between two wooden bowls of water was an unlit candle. "What am I supposed to do, again?" Arelle asked, looking up at him.

"Light the candle without disturbing the water's flow," Moren said. "But first, you must feel the flow of everything around you."

Arelle closed her eyes. She concentrated on the forest around her. She had done this often before, but still she found it difficult.

"Clear your mind of everything but your surroundings, first," Moren instructed.

Arelle tried to clear her mind. Then she started to picture her surroundings in her head. 

Suddenly, she remembered last night. She remembered it vaguely--she was still half-asleep when it happened. She had been having a nightmare... Then, there was a voice. A soothing voice.

"I will always protect you, Arelle..." she heard the voice in her mind, " I will always protect you."

Who could it have been? It must have been Moren. She remembered how she relaxed completely after hearing his words, and how she had immediately fallen into a deep slumber. It was because... because no one had said anything like that to her before. "I will always protect you, Arelle," she heard it again in her mind. It felt so reassuring. Would Moren always be with her, then? He would always be with her, to protect her? But she was leaving, going back to Felwithe, as soon as she learned to control her magic! Would he come with her there, into the city he hated? Surely not. She would have to leave him. She would have to leave him!

"Arelle!" Moren said, both strictness and concern in his voice. "Are you concentrating?"

Her eyes flew open and she looked over at Moren with a look of great distress. He was taken aback by her look, and rushed up to her to see what was wrong.

"What is it, Arelle? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. 

She didn't respond. 

"If the practice was too hard, I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm sorry, Arelle. I shouldn't have woken you up so early, then dragged you out to do this hard exercise. I just thought it'd be for the best."

"No, that's not it..." Arelle mumbled. He looked at her.

"It isn't? Than what is it?" Moren asked. 

Suddenly they heard a voice coming from the direction of camp. "Moren! Arelle! Breakfast is ready!" the voice, which they recognized as Lilliah's, said.

Arelle stood up now. "Shall we go eat, Moren?" she asked. 

He looked at her, wondering about what she had said, but then nodded to her. "Yeah," he said.

**************

Weeks Later

Arelle and Lilliah stood next to each other, the fire in front of them, both wearing warm fur clothing.

"Moren and I are finished with our lessons, now," Arelle said. "I'll help you make dinner, ok, Lilliah?"

"Ok, Arelle, I'll be glad to have the help!" Lilliah said cheerfully.

"Let's make rabbit stew tonight," Arelle said. Lilliah looked at her.

"Rabbit stew? We had that last night! Let's have fish tonight, instead." Lilliah said.

"Let's have it again tonight. Rabbit stew is good in winter. Grandmother always said 'on a cold winter day, stew warms the body and the soul'," Arelle said.

"Yes, but stew twice in a row isn't so good. You should vary what you cook. Therefore, we should have fish tonight," Lilliah replied.

"You _always_ choose fish!" Arelle exclaimed, now somewhat frustrated.

"And _you_ always choose rabbit stew!" Lilliah snapped back.

"But Moren likes rabbit stew!" Arelle said. Lilliah looked at her, and Arelle blushed under Lilliah's gaze.

"Oh, so that's how it is, is it?" Lilliah said jokingly, smiling at Arelle's blushing.

"Oh, and like you don't constantly vote for fish because it's obvious it's Akinen's favorite!" Arelle shot back, and now Lilliah flushed slightly. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Arelle caught sight of two men quietly stalking into the forest.

"And where are you two going?" Arelle shot at them, hands on her hips, with a stern glare on her face. Akinen and Moren paused and turned to her, guilty looks on their faces.

"We were going hunting..." Moren began.

"Really? And you weren't planning on leaving me _behind,_ were you?" Arelle said, walking up to them. 

"Arelle," Moren said, "you should stay by the fire and cook! It's so cold out there—wouldn't you rather Akinen and I went hunting alone? And you could stay by the fire? Besides—it's dangerous!" Moren said. Akinen was silent, but he nodded, agreeing with Moren. 

They both backed up slightly as she glared at them and reached for her bow, which was leaning on the tent. "I'm going with you," she shot at them, simply but forcefully. 

They nodded to her in confirmation. "Ok!"

Arelle, Moren, and Akinen stalked off into the forest. Once they were gone, Lilliah 

sighed, picking up a metal pot used to cook stew in.

"How old is Arelle anyway?" Lilliah said out loud, "She looks so young! She certainly has a will of her own. Arelle's too mature for her age... it's abnormal!" Lilliah said to herself, smiling. "It sure is amusing to watch her boss Moren around all the time, though." Lilliah chuckled.

**************

That night, Arelle, Moren, Lilliah, and Akinen sat beside the campfire, eating their rabbit stew for dinner.

"I want to thank you again, Arelle and Moren, for letting us stay with you for a while," said Akinen. Moren smiled and nodded to him, and Arelle nodded to him slightly, too.

There was a silence as they all ate their food.

"So, Arelle, how are your lessons going?" Lilliah asked Arelle, braking the silence.

"They're going pretty good," Arelle replied.

Moren smiled happily as he said, "What she means is, they're going _wonderfully_, Lilliah! I'm so impressed with all Arelle can do! She's a natural—I've never seen anyone like her." 

"Arelle is different, isn't she?" Lilliah said, smiling. Arelle looked up at her.

"She certainly is! Who would've thought that out in the middle of a forest there lived a talented, cute, powerful, wise young maiden High-Elf?" Moren said. Now Arelle flushed deep, and looked down at her feet.

"She's so mature!" Lilliah said, "And so young!"

"How old _are_ you, Arelle?" Moren asked.

"I'm thirteen." Arelle said, after pausing briefly.

Suddenly, there was a loud howling in the distance, and the party immediately dropped their conversation.

"That's an odd-sounding wolf...it's not a normal wolf." Moren said, looking towards the direction it came from.

Suddenly, there was another call. And more and more answered it. Howling filled the air. Arelle unconsciously stepped to Moren's side. Moren drew his sword, and Akinen and Arelle also drew their weapons.

"Wait!" said Lilliah. They all looked at her. She stepped out in front of them.

"My friends, I am here!" Lilliah said. Suddenly, Arelle was aware of black forms coming out of the dark forest. Suddenly, one lunged at Lilliah.

Lilliah toppled over laughing as the wolf began licking her face. Soon the rest of the wolves were out of hiding, too. There must have been at least ten of them! All of them circled around Lilliah, rubbing against her legs and licking her playfully. Lilliah continued laughing as she petted them fondly. All the while, Arelle, Moren, and Akinen stood a little ways off, watching the scene.

"These your friends, Lilliah?" Moren said, smiling.

Lilliah smiled back. "Yes, they are. My guardians and friends," she replied. Then suddenly the wolves came over to the Akinen, Arelle, and Moren, sniffing them all.

"Do you remember Akinen, my friends?" Lilliah said, pointing at Akinen. Suddenly all attention was on Akinen. All the wolves now circled around Akinen's legs, licking his feet. Akinen laughed as he reached down to pet them.

"Apparently they do, lass!" Akinen laughed.


	15. Chapter 14: The Man with Many Secrets

Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Still reading? I'm so glad! Can you believe how long_ Arelle _is getting? And the thing is, it's not even half finished! So yeah...I guess _Arelle_ will be more of my own novel. Kinda neat, huh? I added it all up, and I estimated that_ Arelle _will end at something like 150 pages. Increbile, huh? So yeah, it's gonna be a long read. I hope you decide to stick with it! Whenever I make it as a famous author, you can say, "I was one of the very few people who read her very first novel,"! Haha! Yeah...that'll happen ^^ But, I do hope that stick with_ Arelle _to the end. Aren't you DYING to know when and Arelle and Moren are going to finally get married? Goodness knows, I am! Haha!

So, I've decided to seperate_ Arelle _into three different parts. Each part will supposedly be around something like 17 chapters long, each chap. something about 3 pages long. They'll be called something like, _Arelle: Saga I_, _Arelle: Saga II_, and _Arelle: Saga III_. Man, I'm so orignal with all these title names! Hehe. Yeah, so since we're on chap. 14, we'll be ending_ Saga 1_ pretty soon now. Lots of new ideas for the next Saga.

Oh, and while I'm making a long rant: Thank you again to all you reviewers! I really never thought Arelle would come this far, and let me tell you this: If it wasn't for all the nice reviews, Arelle NEVER would have made it this far. You all are truly an encouragment! I love you guys! *sniff sniff* ^^ Oh, and read the notes at the bottom of this chap. for a special note to my reviwers ^.~ 

The freezing cold early-morning air bit into Arelle as she walked through the forest. In her arm was a bucket made of clay, which Lilliah had worked long and hard to create for carrying water in. Arelle was wrapped to her nose in furs, but she still felt the cold. Her long ponytail of golden hair was tucked into her clothing, so barely any of her showed from beneath the furs except for her eyes. Right now she was on her way to the nearby stream to fill her jug with water. 

Suddenly, she stopped. She felt someone watching her. She jerked back, looking behind her. No one was there.

"Who is there?" Arelle asked as she drew out her sword, but the furs covering her mouth muffled her voice. Out of the corner of her eye she caught something moving in the bushes. She turned quickly, and suddenly saw a man charging at her. She drew her sword up, preparing to block the man's attack. The man moved with great speed, and within a few seconds he was already upon Arelle. Arelle caught sight of his huge, gleaming sword as it hit her sword with great force. Arelle's sword flew from her hands, unable to stand up to the man's great strength.

Arelle jumped back with great speed and drew her bow quickly, drawing an arrow from her quiver, but stopped as she felt cold steel pushing the furs into her neck. He had his blade to her neck. Her heart was beating fast and her breath was sharp and rigid. He did not move, and neither did she. Arelle studied his rough features and was very surprised to discover that he was a High-Elf!

"What do you want?" Arelle said, at last. He was taken aback by her voice, and looked at her in confusion. He reached out his hand to her face, but Arelle jerked back. He reached his hand out further and pulled down the furs covering her face. His sword fell to the ground with and loud clank as he stepped back, shock on his face. Arelle looked at him, confused.

"Have I been so disgraceful in my acts that now a ghost is come to take me?" the man said, still staring at Arelle in astonishment. 

Arelle looked at him, entirely confused. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Arelle asked. Suddenly, he stepped up to Arelle again, putting his hands on her face. She jerked back as she felt his rough, freezing cold hands on her face, and she looked up at him in confusion as he looked down at her, now fondness mixed with his astonishment.

"Linnira, is it by some illusion that you now stand before me? Yet, you feel of flesh and blood. You feel not how I imagined a ghost to feel."

Arelle was surprised--he thought she was a ghost!

"I am certainly _not_ a ghost," Arelle said, stepping back, away from him. He stared at her. "I am Arelle Mah'Alimah, daughter of Aekash Mah'Alimah," Arelle said firmly.

They paused, looking at each other. Suddenly, realization dawned on his face, and before his expression switched to a cold, calm, reserved face, Arelle caught both great disappointment and sadness in his face.

Suddenly he stepped back from Arelle. "I see," he said, his voice deeper and rougher now. "Well then. I am sorry to have troubled you," he said.

Arelle looked at him now, completely different from the man she saw a few moments ago. "Uhh, yes, that's all right," she said.

"Very well," he replied. He now stood tall and proud, and now Arelle realized how tall he actually was. 

"By the way..." he continued. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I...Wait, what are _you _doing here?" Arelle asked.

He blinked, "I'm in search of something," he responded. "Now, what is a little _High-Elf_ girl doing in the middle of this dangerous forest?"

Arelle sighed. The most commonly asked question addressed to her.

"I _live_ here," Arelle said. 

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?" he said, both disbelief and wonder in his voice.

"Yes. Really," Arelle replied sternly.

He paused. "Alone?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "Perhaps," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What it is that you're searching for?" Arelle changed the subject. She didn't trust strangers.

"First I would like to know about you," he said.

"Why should I tell you about me, when you haven't even told me your name?" Arelle asked.

"Why, yes, I forgot. Yes, my name is Drahkin. Drahkin Mah'Cahlk," Drahkin said. "And you are... Arelle, right? Arelle Mah'Alimah? That's what you said?"

Arelle nodded, . "right."

"Well met, Arelle," Drahkin said, reaching out his hand to shake Arelle's. Arelle looked down at it, and shook it cautiously.

"Well met," Arelle said.

"Sorry about earlier...I didn't realize you were a young girl, or I would've attacked you," Drahkin said.

"Not to be rude, but shouldn't you check to see who the person is before you try to kill them?" Arelle said, slightly annoyed. "If I wasn't a young girl, if I was just a typical guy walking through this forest, would you have murdered me? Just a random person?"

"Maiden, no 'typical guy' would be walking through _these_ woods. But still, no, I would not have killed an innocent human for no reason," Drahkin said, "but you must see that in my years, I have found that you must act first and get the upper-hand quickly. Then, if it turns out to be an innocent person, you may let them go. It's important to act first. Besides, why would any sane person live here in this forest, except to run from the law?" he finished.

"I see," Arelle said, ignoring his latter remark. "So, like before, what was it you were searching for?"

"And, like before, I would like to know why you're out here, first," Drahkin said.

"Like I told you before, I live here!" Arelle exclaimed.

"How could a young maiden live out in the middle of this dangerous forest?" Drahkin asked.

"I can take care of myself," Arelle said.

"Why not live in the High-Elf city like all the rest of the High-Elves do?" Drahkin asked.

"Perhaps I like it out here better," Arelle replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, because this is such a _lovely_ place to live, I'm sure."

"Perhaps you should mind your own business, Sir Drahkin," Arelle said, sternly. He was taken aback.

Drahkin paused. "Perhaps so, young maiden. Usually people are intimidated by me, but apparently not you. Let me just say that you're the most headstrong young High-Elf your age _I've_ ever met."

"I'm working on that, Sir Drahkin. Now, I am afraid I must go, for I must fill this pitcher with water at the stream. It was nice to know you, Drahkin," Arelle said, to Drahkin's surprise, and she turned to leave. 

Arelle didn't trust him. He had too many secrets, and if he wasn't willing to share some of them, there was no reason she should trust him.

Drahkin watched as she walked off in silence. He watched until she was hidden by the underbrush, and then stood there, thinking.

"I can't believe she looked so much like Linnira!" he thought to himself. He stood there, silently thinking. Then he turned and walked away.

*******************

Moren whistled cheerfully as he and Akinen walked up to the warm fire.

"Hey Lilliah!" he said, smiling at Lilliah as she stood over a pot on the fire.

"Akinen! Moren! I see you're back," Lilliah said, taking the meat they had just come back from cleaning and putting it in the pot over the fire.

"Yes indeed," Moren said. He glanced around the camp. "Where's Arelle?" he asked.

Lilliah looked up from her cooking. "Oh, Arelle? Well, I sent her to fetch some water, but she hasn't returned yet," Lilliah said. Moren sat on the ground next to the fire, Akinen doing likewise.

"Oh, I see," Moren said. He sighed. "When will she be back? We were supposed to start training this morning as soon as Akinen and I finished cleaning those rabbits," he said.

"I don't know, Moren...I hadn't really noticed her absence, but now that you mention it, it does seem like she's been gone rather long," Lilliah said.

"What time did she leave?" Moren asked.

Lilliah squinted her eyes, thinking. "Hmm...I think...about the time you guys left to clean the rabbits..."

Moren sprung up from his seat, and Akinen followed. "Lilliah, we left over an hour ago!" Moren exclaimed, "And the river is only a ten-minute walk away!"

Lilliah looked up, alarmed. "You don't think something happened to her, do you?" Lilliah asked.

"I don't know..." Moren said. "Probably not... She would have yelled if she was in danger... don't you think? But anyway, I think I should follow her, to make sure she's ok," said Moren.

"I'll come with ye, lad," Akinen said.

"I really don't think it's necessary," Lilliah said. "I mean, I think Arelle would have yelled if she was in any danger. Besides, there's not all that much in this forest now that Arelle couldn't take out."

"I agree. I'll go alone," said Moren. Akinen nodded reluctantly, as he watched Moren trod off into the forest.

*****************

Notes: Ok, this has nothing to do with the fic, it's just in response to some of my reiewers ^^ Enjoy!

_Starting from the very beginning..._

**MSMoon: **Wow the story's really great. I can't wait till you put up the rest of it...cause you are gonna put up the rest of it *glare* right? ~MM~  
**Amai's reply:** My first comment! And it was made by made beloved sister, MM-Ane-san! Thanks for your encouragement, Ane-san ^^

**some_nancing_elf (LegolasFantasy09@aol.com):** not bad ) i suggest spacing out the paragraphs so its a bit easier to read! Lzaria Stormleaf 20 mage of Zebuxoruk  
**Amai's reply:** Thank you for your suggestion! You probably aren't still reading this fanfic, but I did take your advice! See all the pretty spacing? And how it's so nice a readable? All thanks to you! Thankies!

**Karinada:** I really enjoy this story, I am glad you are going to continue it *wink wink* hehe keep up the great work :)  
**Amai's reply:** Aww, thanks! Simple, but encouraging. I'm glad I decided to continue it, too, heh ^^

**rsd:** it is one of bast fanfic i hive sen  
**Amai's reply: **Aww, thanks! I'm honored you think so *blush*

**ow my brain :** lovely story. wanna hear more! MORE!!!!111one  
**Amai's reply: **Thanks for the compliment, and have no fear, there will be much, MUCH more. ^^

**digitaru :** hullo!! I;ve been readin this for a while now.. and you should have billions more reviews!! it's the best everquest fanfic i've ever read (I know theres not many... but it's stil the best!) Soooo I've decided to review every chapter *mwahahaha!!* whether you want me to or not. well, if not then i _guess_ i wont... but i really really love this storeeey!! and i cant wait to see what happens next! I'll be back... next wednesdaay. yup! buh biaz! ~~digitaru  
**Amai's reply:** I think I should have billions more reviews too, Digitaru! Hehe ^.~ I'm honored you think Arelle's the best EverQuest fanfic you've ever read! I'm so happy ^^ And you don't know how much I LOVE it that you've now decided to review every chapter!

**digitaru:** hullo! Happy Christmas!!! new chapter's like a late x-mas present... only thing I hvata say about it is, It was kinda scary in the middle there, I thought Lilliah was startin to take over as main character.... *dun dun dun*... ooh and I'd like to see more romance with Arelle and Moren, of course ^__^ er, gotta go, see ya whenever new chapter comes! ~digitaru  
**Amai's reply:** Hehe, don't we all want to see more romance between Arelle and Moren? But, the story must go on... more difficulties await our adventurers, new characters shall arrive, and EVENTUALLY, Moren and Arelle's relationship will grow...

**Blue the Echidna:** Awesome! =) This is such a wonderful story, can't wait 'til the next chappie is uploaded )  
**Amai's Reply: **Aww, thankies! I'm happy you like it ^^ 

**digitaru:** two new chapters! when did that happen?? I missed one :( *sniffle* but.... now I get ta read the next one, 'cause I wanna know what happens! *run*  
**Amai's Reply:** I don't remember what the deal with this was, but I think I updated Arelle with a new chappie a day early, and that's when Digitaru checked it. So there was some confusion there. Oh well ^^ So long ago, anyway.

**digitaru: ***dun dun dun*.... very dramatic chapter ^_^ (sorta :P) I liked Lilliah's little slip-up, now I wanna know what happened after she woke up... and I'd also like ta know *why* exactly Lilliah was wandering around in the first place... ...now I have to wait for #12... well, today is wednesday I think, so maybe you'll post next chapter early today, say, about 6:30 AM? *hint hint wink wink* I'll give ya a cookie if it's out before school! *I know it probably won't happen..*  
**Amai's Reply**: It _was_ a kinda dramatic chapter, wasn't it? I swear, sometimes I really can't decide what genre this fic is! Sometimes it's so full of drama. Oh, so you wanna know why Lilliah was wandering around the forest in the first place, huh? Well, hehe, that is a secret that will come out later ^.~! There are SO many secrets that will be coming out in Arelle.

**Blue the Echidna**: OH I love this ficcy! Its so cute! I can't wait for more chapters to come out. *ponders* More people should read this! I shall get more people to read this! *Begins to search for people to prod with chopsticks to get them to read Arelle* =) Keep up the good work!  
**Amai's Reply: **LOL! Prod people with chopsticks to get them to Arelle...Why didn't I think of that? Hehe ^^ Thanks BtE! You really made my day with that comment ^.~ 

**digitaru (digital_goldfishy@attbi.com):** Awwww..... lookit the little chibi-Moren!!! he's so cyuute! *poke poke*........ er.. *ahem*...yeah... what's today... saturday! ;__; I gotta know what's gonna happen to chibi-moren! It's gonna be bad isn't it?? *sniffle* poor poor Moren....  
**Amai's Reply: **Poor Chibi-Moren, ne? It_ did_ turn out bad, didn't it? Poor, poor little Chibi-Moren...

**Blue the Echidna: **Awww poor Moren! Mean ole high elves. =( Next chapter pls!  
**Amai's Reply:** I feel the same way! What mean ole High-Elves they were! I can't belive they hurt lil Moren so much! The meany heads!

**Rose Red: **Keep up the good work.   
**Amai's Reply: **Hey, thankies! Short, but encouraging, none the less ^^

**digitaru:** Awwww.... Chibi-Moren ish so sweet *hugs*.... *blushes* Ahem....He's very mature for his little age, I think ^__^ And the end was so.... fluffily. Yup. One 'o those "warm-and-fuzzy-feelings" :D  
**Amai's Reply:** I think Chibi-Moren ish shweet, too! ^.~ He_ is_ kinda mature for his age, huh? He's a complicated character. But then again, everyone in Arelle is a complicated character...

**digitaru: **Durnit, they needsta just admit their love!!!! It's quite frustrating how fanficcy people can be so dense.... But it *is* entertaining! *grins evily* *banging noises in background* Ah, er, sorries for the one-sentence ish review, but I gotta go mail a pretty little letter bafore bad things happen..... cheerios!  
**Amai's Reply:**D'oh! I know EXACTLY what you mean! Can you believe everyone draaawwwwssss out the most important relationship so much? They ALWAYS do that, and goodness, it's so FRUSTRATING! Haha, I never thought I'd be the one who was annoyingly drawing out the realtionship ^^ But you realize, as soon as they admit their love and all, then that's the end of the story. Unless you want to continue it with their kids. Which I don't.

**Lady Aniviel: **WOW this is a brilliant story i have just read it all the way through please update soon!  
**Amai's Reply: **Hey, thankies! I'm glad you like it ^^ And I update every Wednesday, for cryin' out loud! 


	16. Chapter 15: Surprise Attack

Arelle - Chapter 15 - Surprise Attack

Last time on _Arelle_: Arelle, while on her way to fetch water from the river, met a man named Drahkin. Meanwhile, Moren and Akinen came back to camp, and the party wondered what was taking Arelle so long to get the water, unknowing that Arelle had met Drahkin. Moren leaves to check on Arelle while Akinen and Lilliah wait by the campfire.

Lilliah watched Akinen as he sat, absent-mindedly poking the fire before him. He looked somewhat nervous.

"Look, if you want to go after Arelle, like Moren did a few minutes ago, to see if she's ok, that's fine," Lilliah said.

Akinen looked up at her, surprised.

"Akinen, don't act so nervous! You and Moren are like those insanely over-protective fathers to her!" Lilliah said.

Akinen stopped poking the fire. "Er...Sorry, lass," he mumbled.

Lilliah giggled. "You really do love Arelle, don't you?"

Akinen stared up at her in surprise. "Well...err...I suppose so, lass...After all, she's my blood-relative..."

"You're sorry for it, aren't you? You're sorry for joining the Cutthroats, right?" Lilliah asked. Akinen looked at his feet. Lilliah continued, "Akinen, you are a good person. No matter what mistakes you've made in the past, you're a good person now. Arelle knows that. I know she knows that. Why don't you ask Arelle if she'll forgive you? I know she will. She may already have, in her heart. Why don't you ask her for her forgiveness? Isn't that what you want?" Lilliah said, looking at him.

Akinen paused. Then chuckled lightly, "Lilliah, ye always have a way of making everything sound so simple."

"But it _is_ simple!" Lilliah said. "You're sorry, aren't you? Then just say it! Tell her! That's what you want, is her forgiveness. But you have to ask for it, Akinen. Otherwise, she doesn't know you're looking for it," Lilliah said, sitting beside him. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"You can do it, Akinen. She'll forgive you. I know she will. You can do it," Lilliah said, patting his shoulder encouragingly. 

After a minute, Lilliah got back up and began stirring the fire again.

"I wonder what's taking Moren and Arelle so long," Lilliah said. "Arelle probably started picking herbs or something on her way to the river, and that's probably why she isn't back yet. And then when Moren went to see if she was ok, he found her picking herbs and they started to talk. And you know how those two can talk for so long. They should be back any minute now, though," Lilliah said, tasting some of the meat in the pot with her wooden spoon.

Suddenly, she dropped her spoon back into the pot without warning, and Akinen jumped up of his stump. They both drew their weapons, glancing around the forest.

"You heard it too, huh?" Lilliah asked, addressing Akinen. 

"Someone's here," he said. Lilliah nodded.

"Who's there?" Lilliah shouted.

Silence. Lilliah slowly inched up close to Akinen, sword still drawn.

Suddenly, out of no where, Lilliah caught sight of a man charging them. She turned to face him, and when their swords collided, there was a loud clang.

"He's so strong!" Lilliah thought to herself, as she was being physically pushed back by the force of his sword. But she wouldn't give in.

"Lilliah!" Akinen exclaimed, bearing his sword down on the surprised man. The man was slightly wounded by the attack. He jumped back a few feet before suddenly charging Akinen again. But before his sword reached Akinen, he was suddenly engulfed with flames. He cried out in pain, and sprung back, rolling on the ground, attempting to extinguish the flames. 

Akinen turned to see Lilliah, magical flames still clinging to her hands. "Lilliah...Did _you_ do that?!" Akinen gasped, staring at her in awe. 

Lilliah nodded humbly. 

"Lass, since when were ye a caster-" Akinen was stopped as he saw the man get up off the ground, slight fire burns now covering him.

The man chuckled, his voice rough and rueful. "Well done!" he said gruffly. " I certainly didn't expect you to have a well-trained Shaman bodyguard with you, Aka, the Scarlet Cutthroat!"

Akinen glared at him. "How do ye know that name?"

He chuckled again. "All bounty hunters in this area know of Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat," he said.

Akinen eyes narrowed at him. "And are ye one of those bounty hunters?" Akinen asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am. My name is Drahkin Mah'Cahlk," the man said. His eyes narrowed at Akinen: "I have come for your head, Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat."

Lilliah stepped in front of Akinen. "If you want for his head, you must get through me first," Lilliah said, glaring at Drahkin.

"If you wish to throw your life away for this rogue, that is your decision to make," said Drahkin. "But remember that life is precious, and if I were you, I would forget the money he pays you and run away. If you leave now, I won't chase you. I have no reason to," Drahkin said.

Lilliah glared at him. "He pays me no money, Sir Drahkin, yet I am willing to give my last breath for him. You must pass through me if you want Akinen," Lilliah hissed at him. 

Drahkin was taken aback slightly by this, but then responded. "I don't know why anyone would risk their life for a rogue, for _free_, but, like I said, it you wish to throw away your life for this rogue, that is your choice."

At that, he charged Lilliah, his huge sword gleaming. Again, their swords collided, and Lilliah struggled to keep from being pushed back. Suddenly, she crouched and swung her leg behind his knees unexpectedly, causing him to trip over forward. He jumped up from the ground quickly, swinging his huge sword at her, but she ducked, barely dodging his deadly sword.

Suddenly, Akinen was upon Drahkin, swinging his sword at the man. Drahkin, caught in surprise, barely dodged the attack by falling to his knees. Lilliah was about to swing another blow on Drahkin, when she saw his sword was against Akinen's neck. Akinen had prepared to slice at Drahkin again after he had fallen to his knees, but Drahkin had quickly gotten the upper hand on Akinen.

Drahkin chuckled, standing up slowly, making sure his sword was constantly firmly against Akinen's neck.

"Well, it seems as though I have won," Drahkin said. Lilliah and Akinen glared at him spitefully.

"What can I offer you to spare his life?" Lilliah asked.

"Milady, a bounty is a bounty. Don't take it personally. I just like to rid Norath of its filth, and how convenient it is that I get a reward for it, too."

Lilliah looked at him in disgust. "How can you say that? You don't even know Akinen! All you know is Aka...But Aka holds another inside him—Akinen. And Akinen is a good man! To call him filth—why, you don't know—"

"Enough of this!" Drahkin interrupted. "I am tired of this. I do not know what he has done to deceive you into thinking he's some sort of saint, but I don't care. He's my bounty!"

"How can you slay an innocent man?!" Lilliah cried at him.

"Milady, anyone with a _bounty _on his head is not an innocent man!" Drahkin yelled at her.

Suddenly, voices were heard in the forest, coming closer to the camp.

"Great, they're back. Just a little too late," Lilliah mumbled.

"Oh wonderful, so you have even more henchmen, Aka the Scarlet Cutthroat? Well, I better finish you off before they get here, or I'll be here all day!" he said, raising his arm to chop of Akinen's head. Lilliah screamed and Akinen held his eyes closed as the sword swung towards his head—

"STOP!!"

Drahkin's sword fell to the ground with a loud clank. He turned towards the forest, where there stood a young High-Elf girl, watching in horror.

"Stop this!" Arelle said again, running up to them, Moren trailing behind her.

Drahkin paused, unmoving. "Linnira?" he questioned, quietly. Arelle looked up at him, both anger and pity in her face, for he looked like he was staring at a ghost.

"No. Not Linnnira," Arelle said. "Arelle. Arelle Mah'Alimah."

Drahkin stared hard at Arelle while the rest of the group watched the scene in wonder.

"Yes. Arelle. So it was," Drahkin mumbled, his face returning to it's reserved look. Suddenly, the situation dawned on him.

"Arelle? What are you doing here?" Drahkin said in wonder.

"What am _I_ doing here? What were _you_ doing to my companion?" Arelle said sternly. 

Drahkin frowned deeply, glancing at Akinen. "Companion? Him? Oh, I certainly hope not..." Drahkin said.

"And why is that?" Arelle said.

"Because he's my bounty, that's why!" Drahkin exclaimed. 

Arelle gasped. "You're a _bounty hunter_!" she spat at him. 

He winced slightly, "Yes...I am!"

She paused, glaring at him.

"You can't kill my companion!" Arelle exclaimed.

"But he's my bounty!" Drahkin responded.

"Well too bad! Find a different bounty, you bounty hunter!" she spat at him.

He paused in silence.

"I hate to interrupt..." Moren began, "but I'm afraid I've become curious to know who your friend here is, Arelle," Moren said.

"He is no friend of mine!" Arelle exclaimed, glaring at Drahkin. Drahkin looked away.

Moren cocked an eyebrow at her. "Ooook...Then let me rephrase that. Who is this man here, Arelle?" Moren said, motioning at Drahkin.

"Apparently a dirty bounty hunter," Arelle said.

"Look, Arelle, this is what I do for a living, and it's not such a disgraceful job, you know!" Drahkin said. "In fact, I'd say it was pretty honorable! Keeping it safe around Norath by taking out all the dirty thugs, thieves, rogues—"

"And my own flesh and blood!" Arelle exclaimed. Drahkin was taken aback by her remark, and Arelle hung her head in shame.

"What? You're related to this rogue?!" Drahkin exclaimed.

"Drahkin, tell me. Do you honestly know that all the people you kill for bounty are really dirty rogues? Do you really know what they're like, inside? If they're actually good people? Who has the right to decide who should live and who should die? Life is precious.

"That's why I hate bounty hunters. They kill for money. They take lives for money. To me, _they_ are scum," Arelle said.

Drahkin paused in silence. Quietness fell over the whole party, and in the background they could hear the food cooking over the fire.

Moren sniffed the air. Arelle glared at him as he began to sniff loudly. He noticed Arelle glaring at him and stopped. Within a few seconds, he spoke up.

"Umm...I have to ask...what's that horrible burning smell?" Moren said.

"Oh!" Lilliah said, running to the campfire, "That's lunch!"

The rest of them stayed there, still staring at each other in silence. 

Moren cleared his throat. "Sooo...Wanna stay for lunch, Drahkin?" Moren asked. Everyone looked at him, astonished.

"Umm, I might have an objection to that, lad, seeing how he just attempted to kill me," Akinen said.

"I agree. He's not to be trusted. He could surprise attack us while we weren't expecting it! Are you insane, Moren? And besides, who gave you the authority to invite him?" Arelle exclaimed.

Moren held out his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Oops! Sorry! I take that back! My error."

Drahkin paused. "I promise not to attack any of you."

Everyone turned to face him.

"I've given up on Aka. I won't kill him," Drahkin said. "I promise."

"And why, exactly, should we believe you?" Arelle asked. "Tell me that."

Drahkin paused. "In the name of my dear, beloved sister, I promise no harm will come to you by my hands."

Arelle paused. "You're sister?" she asked. Arelle paused. "Linnira?"

Drahkin nodded. "Yes. Linnira was her name. And she looked just like you, Arelle," Drahkin said. He gently laid his hand on Arelle's face, looking into her eyes. "Just like you..."

Moren cleared his throat loudly. Drahkin put his hand down quickly and turned to Akinen.

"Sir," Drahkin said, "I would be honored to eat with you and your companions," he said, bowing to Akinen slightly. Arelle stared at him in astonishment, as did the rest of the group.

"Well, lad...I don't know...Ye did just try to kill me..," Akinen said.

"Do you doubt my ability to keep an oath?" Drahkin asked. "I promised in the name of Linnira, my sister. I have nothing I treasure more to swear by."

Everyone paused.

"I trust his word," Arelle said. Everyone looked at her. Then another silence.

"Then, I suppose, I trust his word, too," Akinen said. Drahkin smiled at them.

"So then, it's settled? A new companion?" Moren asked.

"Companion? Well, I wouldn't say it that way. I mean, he did just try to kill us. But, at least we know we can trust him not to kill us in our sleep," Arelle said.

"Come now, let us go eat lunch," Arelle said. "I'm sure Lilliah has enough cooked for you too, Drahkin."

"Speaking of Lilliah, since when was she able to cast spells?" Akinen asked.

Arelle and Moren looked up at him wide-eyed.

"She _what_?!"

********************

This chapter was a little longer than usual, but I suppose longer's better than shorter ^^ When I showed this chap. to my mom, she said we should print out the following text and place it in our kitchen:

"Umm...I have to ask...what's that horrible burning smell?" Moren said.  
"Oh!" Lilliah said, running to the campfire, "That's lunch!"

I blame my mom for my poor cooking skills. Uh-huh. So, anyway, in reply to comments...

**Blue the Echidna:**

Aw I feel all special now! *sniffles* This new guy...how interesting he is. I'm very curious about this one. This fic is one of my all time favs and will be reading this all the way to the end! Keep up the fantastic work!

**Amai's reply:** The new guy's interesting, huh? I think he's pretty cool, myself. I'm still rather fond of Moren, though. I'm so glad to know you want to read Arelle to the end ^^ That makes me so happy! Your reviews are always so encouraging ^^

So, is this whole "reply to every comment" thing going to be permanent, you ask? Well, I guess so. Ever since I signed up, I've thought FF.net should allow the author to reply to the reviewer's comments, like they do at my art account at Elfwood (). So, yes, I think I'll be replying to all my reviews. I hope that's ok with everyone ^^ I just like this interaction thing with my reviewers. And I want them to know I appreciate their comments! Btw, thank you to all of Arelle's readers! You all rock ^^ 


	17. Chapter 16: A Debt Repaid

Author's Notes: Eek! Sorry I'm so late this update, everyone! I'm so bad . The reason was, yesterday I was reeeeally busy, and so I didn't get to write much on it, which means I had to write most of it today, but with school and all...Yeah. It was tough. So, here it is, 4PM, as I upload it. I just hope, though, that FF.net doesn't take to long to publish it. I'm sorry about this...I'll try to be better!

Oh, and also, my proof-reader, Tess-san, was busy today, so this chapter was never proof-read, which means that mistakes abound in this chapter. Hopefully she can go over it later this week, and I can repost it or something, if I made any huge mistakes. Oh, and btw, I know I said I'd end Saga I with 17 chapters, but it's taking longer than I thought. I'm not sure if I'll end Saga I next chapter, or maybe the chap. after. Well, enjoy!

**Arelle - Chapter 17: A Debt Repaid**

**(Note: Arelle is updated every Wednesday, for those who don't know)**

****

Last time on _Arelle_: Drahkin, the bounty hunter who was after Akinen's hefty bounty, has vowed never to hurt Arelle, Akinen or any of their party. And then:

"Speaking of Lilliah, since when was she able to cast spells?" Akinen asked.

Arelle and Moren looked up at him wide-eyed.

"She _what_?!"

"What do you mean, 'since when was she able to cast spells'? She _never _could!" Arelle said.

"Well, lass, I don't know much about it, but I do know that she _did_ cast a spell," Akinen said.

"That's for sure," Drahkin chuckled, rubbing the burnt spot on his stomach. "And she's quite a good Caster, for all that this burns!"

"Oh! You're wounded, aren't you? I guess we could heal you…since you promised not to kill us and all. One good turn deserves another," Arelle smiled.

"Allow me," Moren said, facing Drahkin. Moren closed his eyes and his lips moved as he silently recited a spell. As he recited it, his hair and tunic began to float upwards magically, as his hands began to give off a glistening silverish blue glow. He opened his eyes and focused on Drahkin's wound, and suddenly the wound began to heal itself. Soon there was nothing left but a faint scar.

Drahkin touched where the wound used to be and smiled at Moren. "I thank you, good Cleric," he said.

Moren smiled and nodded. "My pleasure,"

"And _Lilliah_ did _that_?" Arelle asked, looking at the faint scar on Drahkin's stomach. "I thought she was a Barbarian Warrior!"

"As did I," Akinen said. "When we knew each other, I don't think the lass had those powers—she was just a Warrior, as far as I knew."

"Well, let's go ask her ourselves," Arelle said, heading towards the camp.

********

Lilliah turned from the wooden bowls she was pouring full of stew to Arelle, Akinen, and Moren who were coming out of the forest. When she saw Drahkin with them she flinched slightly.

"Hello, everyone," she said as they drew nearer.

"Hello, Lilliah," Arelle said, facing her. Arelle saw Lilliah looking at Drahkin, and hurried to explain. "This, as you might have heard, is Drahkin Mah'Cahlk. He's umm…Joining us for supper…" Arelle said.

Lilliah cocked an eyebrow at Arelle. "He's _what_?"

"Well, he's joining us for…supper," Arelle said.

"Didn't he just try to kill Akinen? Isn't he a bounty hunter?" Lilliah said.

"Yes, well, he said he gave up on Akinen's bounty. Oh, and he promised not to hurt us," Arelle said.

Lilliah stared back and forth between Arelle and Drahkin. "Very well," she replied, taking an extra bowl out of the tent and pouring some stew in it.

The tension was intense as everyone sat down at the campfire. Lilliah obviously had something against Drahkin, and Akinen didn't seem too fond of him, either. Likewise, Drahkin seemed to be somewhat less kind to Akinen and Lilliah, though Arelle was surprised he wasn't acting worse, considering he had just called Akinen a "dirty rogue", and Lilliah had scorched his stomach with her flames.

Arelle laughed to herself thinking of the situation. What an odd predicament—they were eating supper with the very man who had just tried to kill her uncle! How'd they get in this situation?

"Well, I suppose we completely missed our lessons today, Arelle," Moren said, sighing. 

Arelle sighed as she realized he was right. "That's true," she said. "I suppose we'll have to start again in the morning."   
"Lessons?" Drahkin asked.   
"I'm a Cleric-in-training," Arelle replied simply.   
"Ah, I see! That would make sense. And Moren's your teacher?" he asked.   
Arelle nodded.   
Again, there was a silence, where everyone ate in quiet.   
Finally, Arelle spoke up again. "So, Drahkin, how long have you been a bounty hunter?" Arelle asked.   
"Six years," Drahkin replied. Arelle was a bit surprised, seeing how he couldn't be older than 25.  
"Really?…I see…" Arelle said, trailing off.   
"This is very good fish, lass," Akinen said, changing the subject.   
Lilliah beamed a smile at him. "Thank you, Akinen!"   
"Even if it's a little, erm, 'well-done'," Moren put in, quietly.   
Arelle tried to hold back a laugh, but failed.   
Lilliah tried to glare at them both, but failed, and smiled herself. "Well, I can't help it that I was rather busy somewhere else at the moment, instead of watching lunch!" Lilliah said, defending herself, but smiling.   
They all chuckled.   
"True," Arelle said, "That is a pretty good excuse," she said, smiling at Lilliah. 

***************

After supper, everyone sat, warming themselves by the campfire. After a while, Drahkin got up.

"Well, I must say, I enjoyed supper very much," he said.

Drahkin turned to leave, when Arelle stood and spoke up. "Drahkin, why was it you wanted to eat supper with us? It doesn't make sense—you just called Akinen a dirt rogue, then you turned around and asked to eat supper with him and his companions!"

Drahkin turned to face Arelle, and stood in silence for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I found you all intriguing," Drahkin said.

"Intriguing?" Arelle asked.

"Yes…" he said. "First, it was your Shaman, Lilliah. 'You don't even know Akinen…he's a good man, inside' she said. I had never thought that anyone with a bounty on their head could really be a 'good person, inside'. I've run in with many evil men in my past…" Drahkin continued, "I just thought of them all the same. And then Arelle, too—She protected him. A Cutthroat, she protected. Everything you all said intrigued me. You remind me of my sister. She used to say things like that," Drahkin turned again towards the forest.

"It was interesting eating with you and your group, Arelle. I will never forget it," Drahkin said. "I should go now. Farewell, Arelle, and farewell to the rest of you," he said, slowly walking into the forest.

"Farewell, Drahkin," the group said, all still taking in what he had just said.

"Go in peace," Akinen said. 

Once he had disappeared into the shadows, Arelle whispered quietly, "I hope you soon find your peace."

**************

Arelle pulled her furs around her to protect her from the early-morning air.

"For a while now, we've been feeling the flow of things around us—trees, animals, people—but now, we're going to try something a little harder—we're going to feel the flow of the air," Moren said. "Are you ready, Arelle?"

Arelle nodded.

"Ok, then close your eyes, and feel the flow around you."

Arelle closed her eyes, and concentrated deeply.

"Feel everything around you…" Moren said. "Concentrate on the air all around you, without opening your eyes. You should be able to feel the light flow of the air around you. The air is ever moving about, and unless you're very good, it's very hard to feel the flow of the air well. But it's there. Can you feel it, Arelle?" Moren asked.

Arelle reached about with her mind, trying to find the flow of the air. Was there really a flow to the air? She couldn't feel it—all she felt was an emptiness. She concentrated harder, and then sighed in frustration. "Are you _sure_ the air has a flow, Moren?" she asked.

"Yes, of course the air has a flow," Moren said, "it's just harder to feel."

"Well, I don't feel it at all," Arelle said.

Moren paused, thinking in silence. Arelle waited patiently for a response.

"Ok, instead of concentrating on the air, this time I want you to concentrate on yourself," Moren said, to Arelle's surprise. "Do you feel your flow, Arelle?"

Arelle concentrated. She found her flow pretty easily. "Yes, I feel it."

"Good. Now, open your palm slowly, not losing your concentration, and hold it out in front of you," Moren said.

Arelle did as he said, opening her palm slowly and raising it in front of her.

"Now concentrate on finding the flow of the air, and also, combine it with your feel—_feel_ the air surrounding your hand. Do you feel it? The air coming in contact with your hand? Do you feel it, Arelle?"

Arelle paused, hand outstretched, concentrating. She felt the faint breeze blow across her cold fingers, and felt the chilly air bite into her warm hand. As she stood there, eyes closed, she began feeling the air's flow coming in contact with her own flow. She was giving out a flow! Like s barrier around her, every bit of her skin gave off her flow. Was this an aura? She had never realized it before, but she felt it clearly now. Her flow came touched with the air around her, the clothing wrapped around her, and the ground she stood on.

"I feel it, Moren. I feel my flow, touching everything around me," Arelle said.

Moren smiled. "Very good. And, do you feel the air's flow?" he asked.

Arelle concentrated on the air that was touching her hand until she could see it's flow clearly.

"Yes, I see it, Moren," she said.

"Well done, Arelle!" Moren said as she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Well done! You've progressed so much—I hadn't expected you to be able to feel the air's flow on your very first attempt!"

Arelle smiled at him. "Moren, I'm getting pretty good, now—don't you think I can control my magic now?" Arelle asked.

"Well, you can certainly control it better than you could before, Arelle. You've learned a lot. But you still can't control it fully," Moren said.

"I see," Arelle said, sighing.

"Come Arelle, let us go eat lunch. I'm sure Lilliah has cooked us something great to eat!" Moren said.

"Speaking of Lilliah, I think we deserve an explanation from her. With Drahkin distracting us, we never did find out how she became a Caster!" Arelle said.

******************

"Lilliah, how come you never told us you were a Caster?" Arelle asked, as the group was sitting down, eating lunch.

Lilliah looked up at Arelle in surprise. "Well…Because you never asked?"

Arelle raised an eyebrow. "Lilliah!"

"Well, I never said I _wasn't_ a Caster!" Lilliah said. "Have you ever actually seen me fight before today?"

Arelle paused, thinking. "No…" Arelle replied.

"Well, I never had any need to fight when I was around you all before today. You all do all the hunting, and I cook. I was never needed to fight," Lilliah said.

"But when we knew each other before, lass. You didn't know magic then, did you?" Akinen asked.

"No, Akinen. At that time I was just a warrior. I became a Shaman later," Lilliah said.

"Why, lass?" Akinen asked.

Lilliah sighed. "After Akinen helped me escape from the Dervish camp, I left for my homeland. That was what he had told me to do, and that's what I though I wanted to do. Many things happened then—I realized many important things. I realized what was most important to me. But also during that time, I found an old lady who was convinced I had great magical abilities. I thought she was crazy at first, since I had been a Warrior all my life. But, finally she convinced me to go through the Shaman training."

"As a Warrior, I lived for battle and loved to fight. But, during that time I spent in Halas, I realized battle was nothing but bloodshed. So now I only fight when it's necessary. And that's why you've never seen me fight before now," Lilliah said.

The party sat in silence, taking in what they had just heard. 

Then Akinen cleared his throat and turned to Lilliah. "Well lass… I suppose you're free, now," Akinen said.

The party looked at Akinen, surprised and confused.

"What do you mean, Akinen?" Lilliah asked, confused.

"You saved my life," Akinen said.

"Well I guess, and so what? You're my friend, of course I would!" Lilliah said.

Akinen looked at her. "You've repaid your debt, Lilliah. Remember? I rescued you, and you came to find me because you had to repay your debt," Akinen said. "You have repaid it, now. You're free."

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Oh, and just on a side note, this isn't the last you'll see of Drahkin ^^ Heh heh heh...

And in reply to my comments, which I appreciate so much...

**Blue the Echidna: **You have an account at Elfwood?! Cool, I visit that site all the time. Its good to know that my reviews are encouraging. ^_^ I look forward to next wednesday when the next chapter is uploaded!  
**Amai's Reply:** Yes, I do have an Elfwood account, here's the link here , but if you can't see that (FF.net strips a lot of html), you can check out the link in my Bio under "Links". Leave a comment there, if you feel lke it :)

**Lady Aniviel:** This is a really good story i cant wait to see where it goes please post another chapter soon  
**Amai's Reply:** Thanks! I'm so glad you like the story :) Oh, and I post a new chapter every Wednesday, in case you didn't know. Thanks for the comment!

**Amari (Godsdisciple28@hotmail.com): **This is a very intrigueing story. I can't help but wonder where its going to go from here. Well you've done a good job with your characters and I say, good work! I hope to see some new chapters up sometime soon.  
**Amai's Reply:** Hey, thanks for the encouragment ^^ I'm glad you think I did a good job with the characters! I think the characters are a lot of fun. Thanks for the comment! 


	18. Chapter 17: Year's End

Author's Notes: Ah, at last! The last chapter of Arelle: Saga I! But have no fear—Saga II will begin next Wednesday. I have lots in store for Saga II, and I hope you'll all enjoy it.

And now, I have to give thanks for all the people who helped me with Saga I. First of all, my proofreader, Tess. Thank you so so so much! /hugs! Second of all, Kage, who helped me on some of the script for the Cutthroats in chapter 6. And thanks to Tess, Kage, and Shiroi for always listening to me as I go on and on about how much I love my story and how many wonderful reviews it's getting ^^ 

And last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to all the reviewers! At many times in Arelle, I felt like the story wasn't good enough, and that I should take it down and stop working on it. I'm sort of a perfectionist sometimes, and at times I was just plain mad at the story for not being as good as I wanted it. But when I felt that way, I always re-read all my reviews, and it always gave me the encouragement to continue. Thanks everyone! Y'all are wonderful ^^ /hugs everyone!

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Last Time on _Arelle_:

"I suppose you're free, now," Akinen said.

"What do you mean, Akinen?" Lilliah asked, confused.

"You've repaid your debt, Lilliah. I rescued ye, and ye came to find me because ye had to repay yer debt," Akinen said solemnly. "Ye have repaid it, now. You're free."

All eyes were on Lilliah. Everyone stood in silence, waiting for Lilliah to reply.

"I see," she said quietly, glancing at the ground.

"Ye can finally be free to live with yer own kind in peace now, lass," Akinen said. 

Lilliah looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Why do you always say that?" she exclaimed. "Why do you always try to make me leave, to go join my race? Why is it, Akinen? I don't understand!" she cried.

Akinen looked at her, surprised and confused.

"Even so long ago, when I was staying with the you and the Cutthroats before you helped me escape from them—couldn't you tell? Couldn't you tell that I didn't _want_ to leave you? That I wanted to stay with you? But you pushed me away—you made me leave! To my own country. My own kind.

"But do you think that I liked it in Halas, after you helped me escape? I didn't. Those five years I spent in Halas—those were the worse days of my life. I didn't belong in Halas. I hated it there. I wanted to be with _you_, Akinen! Couldn't you see that?

"And now, after I finally found you again, you're trying to make me go away again! To leave you, and join my kind. Do you really hate my company so much, Akinen? Why must you always send me away? I don't want to return to my kind, Akinen!" Lilliah exclaimed, "I don't want to leave you!"

Lilliah stared at Akinen, tears falling freely from her eyes. Akinen stared back at her, both confusion and realization in his face.

"Lass…" Akinen started, "I don't understand… Didn't ye come here to repay yer debt? Wasn't that the reason ye left yer home—to repay yer debt to me?"

"Akinen, I can't believe, after all this time, you never caught on to anything!" Lilliah exclaimed. "I didn't come because of the debt, Akinen. I came because I wanted to be with you!"

Akinen stood in silence, shock on his face.

"What do ye…mean…lass?" he asked.

"I-I want to be w-with you, Akinen…" Lilliah stammered, still staring him in the eyes.

"But what about yer people, lass? Don't ye want to be with them?" Akinen asked.

"I just told you, Akinen…I want to be with you… I don't care about my people…I never have…since I met you…" Lilliah said, looking to the ground.

"Lilliah, is this how ye truly feel, lass?" Akinen asked, putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "Are ye really serious about this?"

Lilliah looked up at him. "Yes, Akinen. I've felt this way since I left you, so long ago. I don't belong in Halas, Akinen. I belong with you."

*****************

The next day…

Arelle watched Lilliah as the Barbarian laid some fish in the small pan over the fire. Lilliah seemed happy, and she smiled as she worked.

"I'm glad you decided not to leave, Lilliah," Arelle said. 

Lilliah looked up from her cooking and smiled at Arelle. "As am I, Arelle," she said. "Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I had the nerve to tell him. But, some how, it came out, easier than I expected. And now I won't have to make up foolish excuses to be with him. He knows, now."

Arelle smiled. "I surely hope so. You didn't actually say 'I love you', though," Arelle said.

"Well, not in those words, but I'm sure he caught it," Lilliah said, smiling.

Arelle watched as Lilliah went back to work, cooking the fish. Arelle sighed, happily. She watched her breath make little puffs of fog in the cold winter air.

"My birthday will be soon," Arelle said.

Lilliah looked up at her. "Really? I didn't know that. When's your birthday?" Lilliah asked.

"January 23," Arelle said.

"Ah, that's just a few days away!" Lilliah said. "How old will you be, then?"

"Fourteen, now," Arelle said.

"I see," Lilliah said, turning her attention to the food she was cooking.

"It has now been a full year since I lost control of my magic," Arelle said. "A full year—it seems so long ago, really. So many things have happened since I lost control of my magic.

"When I lost control of my magic, one year ago, people became afraid of me. I was a danger to the town. But I couldn't help it—I couldn't control my magic. Whenever I lost my temper, which was quite often, things around me would burst into flame, because of my magic. I couldn't stop it from happening. So I ran away.

"The very first day away from Felwithe, I met Moren. At first I was weary about him, but it wasn't long before he won over my trust. After finding out he was a Cleric, I asked if he could teach me to control my magic.

"I was overjoyed when he agreed to teach me magic, and we began lessons right away. But it wasn't long before we found my uncle, Akinen, wounded in the forest. Since he was my uncle, I knew I had to heal him, even though I was still mad at him for becoming a Cutthroat.

"And then, before we had even completely healed Akinen, you showed up, Lilliah. A Barbarian sharpening her knife by the river—I remember it clearly. At first, I must admit, I thought you were a bounty hunter, after Akinen's bounty. But, after learning you were an old friend of Akinen's, I was happy to bring you to him.

"For a while after that, everything was pretty peaceful. Moren was still training me in magic, and I was learning so much! Then, before too long, Drahkin—a bounty hunter after Akinen's bounty—showed up.

"I met Drahkin in the forest earlier in the day, and found him to be a man with many secrets. I didn't trust him at all. Later that day, coming home from a trip to get water from the river, I found him at our camp, trying to kill my uncle!

"I managed to convince Drahkin to leave Akinen alone, and under some weird circumstances, we ended up eating lunch with him! After lunch he left, but in a way, I wish he hadn't gone so soon. He had so many secrets—we learned some of them, but it was like reading the first chapter of a thousand-page book—we were just scratching the surface.

"But, he has gone now, and even if I'm still a little curious about him, it's probably better that he left soon and we didn't get involved with him. He was a bounty hunter, after all.

"And then yesterday, after Drahkin left, we found out the reason you don't use much magic, even though you're a Shaman. Truly, it was surprising to find out you were actually a caster!

"After having saved Akinen's life from Drahkin, Akinen told you your debt to him was now paid. He told you that you were free to live in Halas. But you decided to stay with us.

"And that's all that has happened in the last year. Can you believe it?" Arelle asked Lilliah.

"Wow, yes, I suppose you've had quite a full year!" Lilliah said. "I'm glad to finally know more about you, Arelle. I was curious as to why you left Felwithe."

Arelle smiled. "Some day you'll have to tell me more about yourself, Lilliah," Arelle said.

"Me?" Lilliah asked, "Ha! My life isn't that interesting. Besides, I've made so many wrong decisions in my life. It would be embarrassing to tell anyone my life story!" Lilliah said, laughing.

"Well, I suppose everything worked out in the end," Arelle said.

"I suppose so," Lilliah said.

Arelle rested her head against a tree and closed her eyes. She felt the chilly wind blowing her long golden hair, and felt the cold ground underneath her. She could hear the wind rustling in the trees, and the warm fire crackling in front of her. She heard Lilliah cooking fish above the fire, and in the distance she could hear the faint voices of Moren and Akinen talking. A year since she lost control of her magic, huh? Well, over all, it had been a year well spent. As she wandered off to sleep, she hoped that she would have many more years together with her new-found friends.

End Arelle: Saga I

To read Arelle: Saga II, click on the author: Amai no Tenshi above this fanfic. You should see a list of all the things I've written with a Bio about me, and at this screen, choose the fanfic called Arelle: Saga II. 

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Well that's it for Arelle: Saga I, but don't worry, Saga II will start immediately! 

**Blue the Echidna: **Hmm.well I already know that Lilliah won't want to leave Akinen. ;) Patiently waiting to see Drahkin again. I'm curious to know more about his sister.   
**Amai's Reply:** D'oh! How did you know Lilliah wasn't going to leave? ^^ Ok, so it was a_ little_ obvious, I guess, hehe ^^ As for Drahkin, it won't be long till he's back, don't worry ^^

**Lady Aniviel Greenleaf: **Heh i didnt know it was updated every wednesday thanks for telling me :) This is a great story!! PS thanks for reviewing my story ;)  
**Amai's Reply:** Thanks for the review ^^

**digitaru: **arrghh~!! I've been a very very bad reviewer! *sniffles* I'm very very sorry sorry I missed all these wonderful chapters! *bows profusely* (is profusley a word?) I didn't do it on purpose though! I moved out of the house, and my computer does't have internet yet. so I 'borrowed' my little 10year old sister's laptop. but I can only 'borrow' sparingly, cause I'm scared of her when she finds out o_O I promise I'll still read Arelle whenever I can though, okay?? Wells, I'm very very sorry! ;__; *thwaps self* am bad person. *sniff* yup. Sorries again, I forgot to say something about chapyter. I like the new guy ^_^ hope he pops up in next chapter? I go see. Oh, and normally I would say something about the cliffyhangeryness, but I can read next chapter now so it'sok :D. ~Sorries and buhbye *L*  
**Amai's Reply: **Wow, your ten-year-old sister has a laptop of her own? I wish I had a laptop when I was 10. Ha, I wish I had a laptop of my own _now_! ^^ That's ok, Digitaru, that you can't access a computer well so you can't read Arelle regularly. I hope you get settled down soon ^^ Thanks for the reiview!

**digitaru: **lol. Cool chappy o_O mwaha.Moren's becoming the comic reliefy dude, Lilliah's the mature advice-giving one, Arelle's the main person with the issues, Akinen is the brave warrior dude with the 'tragic past', and new guy gets to be Moren's rival! Bounty hunter *dreamy eyes* . ah I mean,~ *waves Moren flag* It's starting to remind me of one of my animes :D. That's a good thing o_0! lol. I'm probably wrong bout all that, but that's how I see it anyways^_^ Er. am still sorries about not reviewing-ness, *bows* I go read next now!! ~me  
**Amai's Reply: **Haha, goodness, you're always so full of energy when you review ^^ Umm, anyway, I think you got the characters down pretty good ^^ Drahkin's not _exactly _Moren's rival, but...well...you'll see ^^ Thanks for the reiview!

**digitaru: **Nice magicy chapter! I dunno how you come up with all this stuff. ish kool ^__^ And You ended it in a cliffyhanger!! *sniffles* *gasp!* Is Lilliah gonna leave?? She can't!! And.. and.. bounty hunter dude. Drahkin! kool name ;) Reminds me of. erm.. Draco! Mwahaha. I'm glad he's commin back. Er, but I still love Moren better! *waves flag*  
**Amai's Reply: **Thanks ^^ I was hoping all the magic stuff wasn't too boring. For some reason I felt the need to put it in there, but I was afraid it was too boring to read ^^ I'm not really sure what "Draco" you were refferring to...hmm... Oh, and I need to get myself one of those 'Moren flags' to wave ^^ Thanks for the reiview!


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